Missing Persons
by auri mynonys
Summary: Thirteen years after Sarah escapes the Labyrinth, Sarah is married with twin daughters and living in relative peace. Then one day, she mysteriously disappears.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Labyrinth fic. I have a significant chunk of it written already, but I'd love some feedback on it; I'm just not sure how well it fits in with the canon or how in character everybody is. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 1

Officer Jessica Barry wasn't sure she liked the man sitting in front of her. Not that she had any right to be judging a man in his situation; if anything, she should be attempting to be sympathetic to him. But she couldn't quite seem to stir up the necessary compassion for the nervously bouncing man. He was fidgeting constantly, eyes darting with fright about the room – especially towards the windows. His dark brown hair was plastered to his head with sweat, and his brown eyes were filled with apprehension. He kept twisting his pale, thin hands in his lap, occasionally unlacing the slender appendages so that he could rub his face.

He didn't have a very exciting face, Jessie decided. He more possessed the _making_ of good looks than actual good looks. He had high, prominent cheekbones that Jessie would have killed for, and his eyes were large and doe-like with long lashes better suited for a girl. He had a weak chin and a very straight nose that almost looked a touch off-center, and his lips were thin and pale. At the moment, his almost ashen skin was creased with many lines, probably more out of concern than actual age – according to the report in her hand, he was only twenty-nine.

"You're Jared Thomas?" she asked him, blue eyes glancing down at the report and reading off the name.

"That's me," he said in a soft voice, a tiny, half-hearted smile flickering to life and dying a sickly death.

"I'm Officer Barry," she said, holding out her hand to shake. He took it; she noticed his palm was very sweaty. "People usually call me Jessie. It makes me more comfortable."

"Oh – o-okay," he said, stuttering a little. "Well, then, if it's all the same to you… most people call me Red. It's a nickname my wife started."

"Ok, that's fine, Red," Jessie said. "And you're here to report a missing person. Is that right?"

"Y-yes," Red said with a jerky nod, stuttering again. "Sarah Ann Thomas. Maiden name of Williams."

"Okay." Jessie took down the name, a lock of blonde hair escaping the ponytail at the back of her head. "And Sarah is what relation to you?"

"She's my wife," Red said quietly, hanging his head dejectedly.

Jessie finally felt a pang of sympathy. "Any kids?" she asked.

"Twins. Marie and Elizabeth. They're four," he supplied.

"And how old is Sarah?"

"Twenty-eight." He paused, then added, "She's about five feet five inches tall. She has brown hair and blue eyes and she weighs about a hundred and thirty pounds."

"Skinny girl," Jessie said in surprise.

"Yeah," Red said absently. "She doesn't eat much these days…"

"Any particular reason?" Jessie asked, looking up with a slight frown.

Red shrugged. "She has some very strange dreams sometimes," he said. "She has a lot of issues that she was trying to work out from her past. It… it gave her some trouble."

"Does Sarah have a history of mental imbalance?" Jessie questioned,

Red looked uncomfortable. "Yes, I guess," he said uncertainly. "She never saw anybody about it, of course, but, umm… yeah, she had some problems. She was pretty normal generally, but…"

"Do you know what was wrong with her?" Jessie interrupted. She instantly regretted it; Red looked even more distraught. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive," Jessie murmured.

"It's ok; you have to ask, I guess," Red said with a resigned shrug. "I don't know specifically what was wrong. I thought she was just making up weird stories to cope with some issues from her childhood. After we got married she told me that when she was fifteen her baby brother got kidnapped by this Goblin King and she had to go through this Labyrinth to save him. She said the Goblin King was still in love with her and that he might return at any time for her, and that I should probably be careful." He paused and looked searchingly at Jessie. "Crazy, right?" he said with a nervous laugh.

"Strange, definitely," Jessie agreed, a small crease appearing between her eyebrows. "Any idea why she'd come up with this kind of story?"

"I originally thought it was to cope with her mom abandoning her," Red said with a shrug. "She and her stepmother never really got along. I figured it had something to do with that. But now… look, I don't even know if she actually believed what she was telling me. I mean, it seemed like it at the time, but she was perfectly normal otherwise."

Jessie wanted to ask why a grown woman would make up such ridiculous stories for her husband, but she decided it was probably better to get off this uncertain track. "Did Sarah work?"

"Yes," Red said, sounding relieved. "She worked part-time at the public library downtown. She ran the morning story times."

_Well, that explains a lot._ "Ok," Jessie said, setting down her pen and pulling out a small, handheld recorder. She clicked it on and said, "All right, this is an interview with Jared Thomas, husband of Sarah Ann Thomas, maiden name Williams, who is missing. Jared, how long as Sarah been missing?"

"About a day and half," Red said, chewing his lip and turning to stare out the window again.

Jessie leaned slightly towards him, hoping to draw his attention back to her, but he was oblivious. "Jared, can you tell me what happened preceding her disappearance?"

"Ummm," Red said absently, "Not that much. We fought on Monday morning right before she got up to go to work."

"What were you fighting about?"

"She was talking about some guy in her sleep," Red said, anger flashing across his face. "I didn't know who he was at the time. I guess they go way back. Some guy named Jareth. Who the hell names their kid Jareth, anyway?" He shook his head and gave a dry laugh. "I work long hours every day. I'm an accountant and I've been taking on more time to help support Sarah and the girls. Her job doesn't pay very well, but she won't quit – she loves it too much."

"So you worked all of Monday after you fought with her?" Jessie said, gently attempting to guide him back to the topic at hand.

"Yeah," Red said, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "Yeah, I didn't get home until about ten. When I got back, I couldn't find Sarah anywhere. The kids' room was totally torn up, too – their stuff was just… everywhere. And their window was open. They wouldn't tell me what happened. When I asked where their mommy went, they said they didn't know. They told me that guy Jareth had been there, though."

"Did you see him?"

Red hesitated, as though thinking carefully. Then, he shook his head. "No," he said. "No, I didn't see him."

"Why did you wait to go to the police?"

"I thought she'd come back," Red said, almost plaintively. "I thought… I just assumed she'd come back by morning. She liked to go out at night and walk sometimes, when she had a lot on her mind. And if she was going to go off and have an affair with some random guy with a weird name, then to hell with her. I thought I'd confront her about it in the morning. But when I woke up she wasn't back and… well, then I started getting worried."

"Is that all that happened?"

He paused again, chewing his lip, his eyes cloudy. "Yes," he said finally. "Yes, that's it."

"Had Sarah been acting strangely prior to this incident?" Jessie asked.

"No. Well… she kept having these disturbing dreams, I guess. She talked a lot in her sleep – lots about the Jareth guy." Red shrugged once again. "I don't know what he has to do with anything, really, or if he does. I just know that he kept coming up."

Jessie nodded shortly and clicked off the tape recorder. "You said that your girls' room was trashed and that they claim they saw Jareth?" she asked.

"Yes," Red said, nodding.

"We'll need to interview the girls," Jessie said, glancing up from under a heavy set of darkened lashes. "They may have more information on where their mother went, and if Jareth has anything to do with it. You don't happen to have a last name for this man, do you?"

Red shook his head. "She only ever mentioned the first name," he said, almost regretfully.

"All right," Jessie said, smiling in an attempt to be comforting. "How difficult can it be to find some guy named Jareth, right? There can't be many people running around with a name like that."

Red smiled slightly. "I hope not," he said. His face grew grave again. "I should warn you that the girls don't like to talk to anyone," he added. "They're… very introverted. They don't even like talking to _me_ that much."

"Autistic?" Jessie asked.

"Their mother didn't think so," Red said with a shake of his head. "More that they're just… odd."

Jessie frowned slightly, but nodded. "I'll be over early this evening," she said. "Six sound good?"

"Sounds fine," Red said, but it seemed like his mind was elsewhere.

"All right, Mr. Thomas, you are free to go," Jessie told him, looking down at the paperwork on her desk. "I'll be around at six o'clock to interview the girls."

"Thank you, Ms. Barry," he said, getting up and walking out of the door.

Jessie followed him with her bright blue eyes as he walked out, a stormy look on her face. She had the feeling this case was going to prove to be her strangest yet…

* * *

_The argument was hanging like a storm cloud in the air of their bedroom. Sarah could feel it even through the veil of sleep still fogging her half-awake brain. She must have spoken in her sleep again. She knew she had dreamed of the Labyrinth last night – but when had she not dreamed of the Labyrinth? It was so much a part of her night that she would have been concerned if she hadn't seen it. There were times when she missed it so - the Labyrinth, and its master…_

_**Jareth…**_

_The alarm abruptly began screaming in Sarah's ear, and she flinched, gripping at the sheets as her mind similarly clung desperately to the remaining shreds of her dreams. __**No, no, not yet… Jareth…!**_

_**Sarah!**_

_"Sarah, wake up."_

_There was nothing for it; she had to let go. "I'm awake," she said grouchily, rolling onto her back and rubbing her eyes. She blinked several times before opening them slowly, the room gradually coming into focus. It was still dark; Sarah closed her eyes again, wishing she could sleep longer. In her mind, she attempted to find something to focus on besides the impending fight. She found it in a few moments; the ceiling fan was going even though the air was positively frigid. "Turn the fan off," she groaned, tugging the blankets up over her chin._

_The fan was off with a click, and the room gradually fell into eerie silence as the whir and hum died away. "You were talking in your sleep. Again." Red made no effort to hide the resentment he was feeling._

_Sarah opened her eyes again and rolled over to face her husband. "What did I say?" she asked resignedly, although she already knew the answer._

_Red's brown eyes were narrowed accusingly. "__**Jareth**__," he said tersely. There was anger in his posture as he stood by the edge of their bed. "You know, when we first got married, I always thought you were saying my name."_

_Guilt bubbled inside the pit of her stomach. "Jared -!"_

_"No, don't." Red sounded tired. "I'm sick of all your Labyrinth crap. We've been through this a million times -!"_

_"It happened, Jared!" Sarah said forcefully, hands clenching into fists. "It's not some strange fantasy I created to cope with the loss of my mother or the appearance of my stepmother or anything like that! It's real!"_

_"Sarah." Red was using the gentle but firm tone that Sarah despised above all others – because it meant that he was being both rational and patient, and it condescendingly implied that she was purely emotional and foolish. "I really think you ought to see my therapist," he said, for what seemed the ten millionth time since Sarah had told him of her adventures in the Labyrinth. "We can work through this together," he continued, with great conviction. "You know I'll be there for you through the whole process."_

_"I wish you'd be equally there for me the rest of the time," Sarah said spitefully._

_Now Red was defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped._

_"I think you know." Sarah threw the blankets aside and leapt from bed._

_"Just because I'm working my ass off right now – which I do to support your passion for imaginary worlds which, incidentally, puts you in a job that pays shit – doesn't meant I'm not 'there' for you!" Red snarled, voice rising with his temper._

_"Even if I didn't' have my job, you'd still be working your ass off," Sarah said coldly. "You wanted me to stay home with the girls after they were born."_

_"Is it so wrong to want them to be close to their mother?" Red demanded. "Children need their mothers' influence in their lives!"_

"My job gives me plenty of flexibility," Sarah said heatedly. "I'm there to bring them home every day from preschool – which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for you!"

_Red looked ready to throw something, but he kept his temper in check. He turned away and tore a shirt from its hanger in the closet. "I've got to go to work," he said, his voice chilly._

_"You always do," Sarah said nastily._

_He didn't take the bait. "Just remember what we agreed on, will you?" he asked. "I know they've been badgering you for the story."_

_Sarah didn't reply. She turned her back to him as she pulled a dress from her closet. She could feel him staring at her, but she still refused to answer. He heaved a sigh, grabbed his clothes, and walked out of the door to the bathroom, leaving her alone and cold in the bedroom._

* * *

Sarah had the sickening feeling that she wasn't in her house anymore.

Not that the atmosphere of the area around her was unfamiliar. Even with her eyes tightly closed Sarah inherently recognized the feel of the place. But it definitely wasn't her house, with her girls and Red. At the moment she was hesitant to call him 'husband.' They'd been fighting so much recently...

Sarah squinted her eyes shut more tightly than before and winced. She and Red's fighting was a secondary problem at the moment. Of greater importance was the question of how she had found herself, once again, in the Underground – for, she concluded, that was the only place she could possibly be.

She grimaced as though she were in great pain and gritted her teeth. She was fairly certain she could already trace the cause of her presence here to one man – or, more accurately, Fae. "Jareth," she said, a statement and not a question.

"Ah, so you _are_ awake." Jareth's voice, husky but full of mocking, invaded her ears. "I was beginning to wonder if you always made faces like that in your sleep, or if you were actually waking up at last."

Sarah's eyes flew open, and she sat up, startled by the words "at last." Her bright green eyes quickly took in the room that Jareth had brought her to. "Is this your bedroom?" she asked in alarm, noting the sandstone walls, the elegant carvings of faeries, Elvin folk, and (appropriately) goblins. The most important factor in her deduction was of course the rather massive bed on which she found herself – a huge circular cushioned thing laden in pillows, surrounded by crimson velvet curtains and draped in silk sheets. It made her think of something she might have seen in the Arabian nights. "Is this where you keep your harem?" she asked in disgust.

Jareth chuckled. "Apparently so, since you're here, and my harem at the moment is comprised solely of you."

"At the moment?" Sarah repeated sharply.

Jareth threw back his head and laughed. "Is this jealousy I sense?" he said in delight. "I had no idea my Sarah could feel as possessive of me as I do of her."

"I'm not your Sarah," Sarah mumbled, but there was relatively little conviction. Her eyes flickered rapidly over him; his hair was still blonde and shoulder-length, but she thought she spotted a few silver streaks amongst the gold. He was wearing tight gray breeches with knee-high black boots and a black shirt open at the front – nothing more. Sarah turned her eyes elsewhere as a slight blush crept up her cheeks; she silently prayed he hadn't noticed her close scrutiny. "What did you mean, 'at last?'" she asked him.

"You've been asleep almost thirteen hours," Jareth said, nodding to a gorgeous crystal clock hanging on the wall before the bed. Both hands pointed at the number thirteen. Sarah shivered slightly, recalling her run in the Labyrinth.

"I take it no one's looking for me," she said resignedly. _Or if they are, they've lost_.

"Looking?" Jareth laughed, a bit cruelly. "No, my Queen, no one's looking for you."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Don't you _dare _refer to me as your queen!" she snapped, leaping from the bed. "Just because you kidnapped me doesn't mean I automatically belong to you!"

"Yes, actually, it does," Jareth informed her with a smug grin.

Sarah frowned, dropping back onto the bed with a slight huff. "That rule only applies to those you kidnap on the command of someone from Above," she said certainly. She was pretty sure she'd read that somewhere in her old, worn copy of _The Labyrinth_. "And there was no one to wish me away!"

Jareth cocked an eyebrow at her. "Wasn't there?"

Sarah's frown deepened, and she mentally went through the list of people who might dislike her enough to wish her away to the Underground, and then compared that to the list of people who would even have a vague idea of what the Underground was. The results proved to her that she was right. "No, there wasn't," she said stubbornly.

Jareth's expression was infuriatingly self-satisfied. "Sarah, let me ask you something," he said, folding his hands before him. "If I have been entirely capable of kidnapping you without being commanded to do so for the past – what is it now? Thirteen years?" He paused and chuckled. "That's ironic," he said in amusement. When he saw Sarah wasn't laughing with him, he stopped. "If I have been capable of that," he continued, "Then what in the world do you think has been stopping me?"

It was a good question. Sarah had to puzzle over it for a moment before she had an answer, and it wasn't very good. "Red?" she suggested timidly.

A cloud passed over Jareth's face. "Hardly," he said, his voice dripping with derision. "It would seem more likely that he might be the catalyst that would _cause_ my random kidnapping of you. Which is true, in a way," he said with a thoughtful frown. He then waved a hand dismissively in the air and went on. "But no matter. Jared has only been present in your life for the past seven years. What was stopping me for the previous six years?"

"Sarah-proofing the Labyrinth?" Sarah suggested jokingly.

He smiled. "A worthy pursuit," he said, "But no. The fact is, Sarah, that there would have been nothing to prevent me from stealing you back the very instant you and your baby brother were returned safely to your house. Do you think I would have let you go if I'd had a choice?"

Sarah shook her head slowly. "No, not really," she admitted.

"Then logic would suggest that _someone_ must have sent you here," Jareth said. "I realize you're not necessarily a logical person – neither am I in the typical sense of the word – but Jared certainly is, and having spent seven years trapped with him I would think some of it perhaps would have rubbed off on you."

Sarah grimaced. "Not… exactly," she said.

Jareth pretended to be concerned. "Oh, dear," he said, pressing a hand to his heart. "Don't tell me that you and your beloved husband are perhaps not getting along as well as you should be?"

Sarah wanted to throw something at him, but the only thing conveniently available was a pillow. She glared pitilessly at him instead. "We're having some disagreements, but we'll fix them," she said with more confidence than she felt. "Once I get home, that is."

"Ah – about that," Jareth said, pointing at her as though he'd just recalled something. "As you were wished here by someone from the mortal world, and no one took up the challenge to rescue you, and the typical thirteen hours have already passed anyway by about seven minutes, you are now a denizen of the Underground – and the Underground is not willing to let go of those who belong to it. As you are quite the flight risk, you are never permitted to return Above."

"What?" Sarah shrieked, jaw dropping open. "But that's not –!" She winced and stopped herself from saying her too often spoken mantra. "Of course it isn't," she said in response to herself. "It's Jareth."

Jareth laughed, and Sarah glared at him. "I'm glad you're amused by this situation," she spat at him.

"Not amused – just pleased." Out of nowhere he conjured a crystal, and with a twist of his hand, it became Sarah's least favorite fruit. "Peach?" he offered, a twisted gleam of enjoyment in his mismatched eyes.

Sarah shuddered and gagged slightly. "No!" she said vehemently.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, tossing it carelessly into the air. Sarah wasn't in the least bit surprised when it disappeared. "I notice that you haven't attempted to guess who sent you here," he said.

Sarah chewed her lip. "The girls, perhaps?" she said, thinking of her twin daughters with a pang of sadness. Absently, she murmured, "I'll never see them again…"

A look of genuine concern crossed Jareth's face. "I'll bring them here for you," he assured her. "They don't deserve to be left with that mortal you married."

Sarah shot him a disgusted look. "He's their father," she said, rather more forcefully than one might have expected.

"Is he?" Jareth said in a bored tone. Before Sarah could say anything in response, he said, "It doesn't matter; they're twins."

"And that has what to do with it?" Sarah asked suspiciously.

"All twins have some sort of association with the faerie world," Jareth explained. "You don't think twins are really just biological coincidences, do you? Some kind of magic has to be involved for two children to grow at the same time. So all twins are halfway part of the Underground and halfway part of the mortal world. They can choose which world they spend their time in, but eventually they all return to the home of their hearts."

"Here?" Sarah asked, a bit hopefully.

"Yes, here," Jareth said. "I don't need an excuse to fetch them; they belong here as much as I do. I can bring them here anytime I like."

"Then until I've found a way to get out of here, I'd like to see them as often as possible," she said.

Jareth sighed. "You won't escape, Sarah," he told her. "You've been wished here and left. You _belong_ to me."

That pricked Sarah's independent soul. "No one sent me here!" she exclaimed. "The girls wouldn't be so cruel -!"

"No, I'm sure they miss you," Jareth interjected.

" – And I know no one else who would have done this," Sarah said angrily. "You kidnapped me!"

"Kidnapping is one of the major portions of my job description," Jareth said unapologetically. "And you're obviously not thinking clearly about who sent you here. Actually, I'm surprised you don't remember."

Sarah blinked in surprise. "I was _there_?" she questioned.

"Oh, yes," Jareth said, studying the fingertips of his gloves with a tiny frown. "You were fighting with someone you claim to love very dearly, as I recall."

Sarah thought about that for a minute, anger momentarily smothered beneath her confusion. Suddenly she realized to whom Jareth was referring. "Red doesn't believe in the Labyrinth," she said – but she felt dread creeping through her veins.

"I know that," Jareth said, a wide smirk growing on his face. "Believe me, I know it quite well."

"Then he couldn't have wished me here," Sarah said impatiently, her anger growing again quickly.

"Oh, I'm sure he didn't _mean_ what he said," Jareth said with a careless shrug. "As I recall you didn't exactly _mean_ to wish your brother away, but I came as you asked and did as you bid me. I'm doing Jared the same favor – only he forfeited you to me rather more easily."

Sarah childishly covered her ears to block out the harsh words. In some ways, Jareth made her feel like a child again – maybe because she associated him so much with the fantasies pervading her girlhood. "I don't believe you!" she exclaimed.

Jareth snorted disdainfully. "Next thing you know, you'll slip up again and tell me it's not fair," he said

"It isn't," Sarah said petulantly, removing her hands from her ears a bit sheepishly. "But I learned a long time ago that that hardly matters to you." She glanced around the room again – anywhere but at her adversary's face. "You said you weren't technically permitted to kidnap someone without being ordered to do so," she said, still refusing to believe what he had claimed about Jared.

"I _didn't_ kidnap you without permission," Jareth said composedly. "You know, you and Jared are rather similar, in that you both have the most sickening habit of denying the truth when it's looking you in the face."

"I haven't noticed you being particularly accepting of the truth when it doesn't suit your purposes," Sarah fired back, whipping her head around to look at Jareth.

He raised a perfectly arched brow. "I don't deny the truth," he said; "I just attempt to trick my way out its being true."

Sarah couldn't help smiling at that. She ducked her head to try to hide the grin, but Jareth caught it. "Aha!" he exclaimed, pushing himself from the wall and striding across the room to her. "I _knew_ beneath that hard exterior you had a soft spot for me."

"I don't," Sarah said, annoyed by his characteristically smug display. He dropped down next to her, and she gave a tiny cry and scuttled across the bed to get away from him. "What are you doing?" she asked sharply.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Jareth asked a bit testily. "I'm attempting to sit by you so we can have a conversation at a normal distance."

"Does anyone _ever_ have a conversation with you at close quarters?" Sarah questioned. "I can't imagine any of your goblin minions getting that close to you without being kicked or hit or something of that variety. And since everyone who's intelligent is afraid of you…"

"_You're_ not afraid of me," Jareth pointed out.

"Jareth," Sarah said scornfully, "You have no _idea_ how afraid I am of you."

That brought a smile to the Goblin King's face. "Not as afraid as you obviously think you are," he said with a fond shake of his head. He tapped the patch of bed beside him with his hand. "Come here."

Sarah violently shook her head. She wanted to pull her knees up to her chest, but she was wearing a pencil skirt that clung uncomfortably tight about her legs and didn't allow her much freedom of movement, so she folded them mermaid-style instead. "I'm married, you know," she said uselessly. It was absurd, but somehow she thought making that announcement aloud would ward off her extraordinarily persistent suitor.

Jareth rolled his eyes, completely unperturbed. "Mortal marriages," he said with great contempt, "Are of no consequence to immortals like myself. When mortals join our world, all their bonds to the mortal world are broken – which leaves us free to forge new ones."

"Which is exactly what you plan on doing," Sarah said, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes," Jareth said unapologetically. "And we might as well start now – don't you think?"

"No," Sarah said, tossing her legs over the opposite side of the bed, standing with a bit of difficulty in her high heels, and walking to a corner of the room, where she settled herself with her nose in the air and her arms over her chest. "Red will eventually find me."

"It wouldn't matter if he did," Jareth said, anger starting to edge his voice. Sarah guessed that he didn't like the mention of her mortal husband. "He gave you to me with no demands and no offer to win you back. He sent me to retrieve you and left you to me. By right, you belong to me, Sarah."

"I will _never_ belong to you!" Sarah exploded, her arms dropping to her sides and her hands clenching into fists. "You can't _own_ me, Jareth!"

Jareth regarded her with mismatched eyes that were disturbingly tired and sad. "That's just the thing," he said. "I already do."

He stood, walking across his bed as though it wasn't even there. He dropped off the opposite side and approached her corner with a stride somewhere between arrogant and cautious. Sarah's heart leapt to her throat and her lips parted slightly as her breathing turned shallow in reaction to his proximity. Jareth noticed her reaction and barely managed to quash his smile. "Sarah," he said, his voice soft, "I'm not doing this to hurt you."

"Fooled me," Sarah muttered, her eyes dropping to her feet.

Apparently he didn't see fit to respond to this. She glanced up, vaguely surprised at his silence, and inhaled sharply when she saw that he was resting his hand on the wall right next to her shoulder, easily supporting the weight of his slender body on that arm. His face was merely inches from hers. "Sarah…" he murmured, leaning forward to kiss her.

She almost – _almost_ – let him do it. But her naturally rebellious spirit cried out in protest, and she turned her cheek at the last second, tearing away from the wall and slipping past him. She stood with her back half turned to him in the midst of the room, her cheeks flaming. "Don't touch me," she ordered.

First hurt, then anger, then an ugly sneer crossed the Goblin King's features. "It's a little late for that, isn't it, dear Sarah?" he said acerbically.

The statement would, to any outside observer, have made no sense; but it obviously had some significance to Sarah, because she flushed even more darkly. "I'm leaving," she said through gritted teeth.

"Oh no you're not!" Jareth seethed.

His hand shot up and the door to the bedroom slammed tightly shut just as Sarah reached it. She was a bit too old to bang her fists against the obstinate doors, so she simply turned back to Jareth with a vicious glare. "Let. Me. Out," she said, slowly and deliberately.

"No," Jareth said flatly. "You're not going anywhere until you remember how you happened to find yourself here. You may be very surprised when it comes back to you."

"That I doubt," Sarah scoffed.

Jareth gave her a stony glare in response. "I'll be in my throne room kicking my subjects," he said with a very sarcastic bow. "Call if you should require me."

And with that, he vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

After reviewing her notes from her talk with Red Thomas, Jessie was feeling very depressed. There wasn't much to go on – just a guy with a strange first name (who Jessie had found no trace of) and a history of some rather odd storytelling on the missing woman's part – but nothing else.

There was a bit of relevant information on Sarah Williams-Thomas available to her. Sarah was very active in community theater, mainly due to the fact that her mother was a big-name actress. The dramatically inclined mother had left Sarah's father when Sarah was eleven, and although there were no signs that it was a highly traumatic experience for her, Jessie couldn't imagine it hadn't left a profound effect on the young girl, especially considering what Red had told her about Sarah's stories.

She also found advertisements for Sarah's story time at the local library, which was apparently quite popular. The ads were bright and colorful and warned that timeslots tended to fill up very fast for Sarah. Jessie had also discovered that Sarah had been invited to perform story hours for other libraries in the area; there were ads for those, too, in papers from other towns.

So it seemed the best place to start with gathering information on Sarah's possible whereabouts would be at the library, where Sarah's coworkers might have heard something that Red had not. When Jessie's lunch break rolled around, she set off at once.

The library was about a fifteen-minute drive from Jessie's office. It was a pretty large building, but the parking lot was practically deserted. Jessie frowned slightly at the empty parking lot and slipped out of her car, studying the large building with wary eyes. It had been a long time since she had entered a library; she didn't have much time for reading anymore.

The library was still and hushed when Jessie entered it, almost like a church. There was a wide opening foyer into the library, tastefully and elegantly decorated with a large wooden counter at its center. At the counter stood a librarian, eyes focused on his work. He didn't look the way Jessie had pictured a librarian would look. For one thing, he was male, and there was something distinctly unexpected about a male librarian. For another thing, his hair was long, blonde, and pulled back in a ponytail. He was dressed in dark dress pants with no suit coat and his white shirt was unbuttoned at its collar.

Jessie blinked in surprise at him, then chided herself for stereotyping. She approached the desk with a calm swagger and laid her hand on the flat oaken surface. "I'm looking for the children's library," she said, a bit arrogantly.

The man looked up from his work with an amused grin on his face. "You look too old for story time," he observed.

Jessie flashed her badge. "I'm looking for information, not a story," she said, her voice chilly.

He raised an eyebrow. "In the children's library?"

Jessie cast him a withering glare. "A coworker of yours has gone missing," she said. "I'm here to get some background on her and see what was happening here the day she disappeared."

Suddenly the man was all concern. "Sarah?" he asked, getting up from his chair. "Sarah Williams?"

"She's the one." Jessie put her badge away and asked, "How'd you know?"

"She didn't come in to work today," the man explained. "And she didn't call in. She's never done that before. She _loves_ her story time."

"Are you close friends with her, then?" Jessie asked, grabbing her notepad and a pencil.

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "The name's Ian Harrigan. We've worked together for a while now. She's missing?"

Jessie nodded. "So we believe," she said. "Do have any idea where she could be?"

Ian shook his head. "If she's not home with the kids, I don't know where she'd be," he said. "Nothing's going on at the community theater, as far as I know, and that'd be the only other place she'd go."

"Did she come into work yesterday?" Jessie questioned.

"Yeah, she did her story time as usual," Ian said. "I heard it was a really amazing one, too. Everybody was talking about it. We were all looking forward to her next installment today."

Jessie frowned. "Do you know what the story was about?"

"Nope. Wasn't there," Ian said apologetically. "I was working up here. But the other children's librarians are downstairs. I imagine they're not too happy right now – people were complaining and whining like their four-year-olds when they left."

"When was the last time you saw Sarah?"

"One o'clock yesterday afternoon," Ian told her. "That's when she gets off work. I'm not sure what she does after that, but I think she stays home for the afternoon and paints or writes or something like that. She told me she likes to read poetry sometimes, but that she's terrible at writing it." He shrugged. "I don't know what else to tell you. She didn't mention that she was going anywhere special. In fact, we barely talked. She seemed kinda preoccupied, actually. She just said good-bye and walked out the doors."

Jessie jotted down a few notes, and as she did so, questioned, "Do you know anything about a guy named Jareth?"

Ian blinked, then threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, sure," he said with a wide smile. "Jareth's a nasty piece of work. The people in the children's library don't like him much."

Jessie looked startled, and Ian laughed again. "Go downstairs and ask them about him," he suggested with a mischievous grin, pointing in the direction of a large staircase leading upwards. "They'll tell you everything you want to know."

Jessie got the idea he was making fun of her. She shot him a dirty look, but followed the direction in which he had pointed and followed the massive staircase up to the second floor of the library.

The door was decorated with small children's drawings. Jessie wasn't entirely sure what the drawings were of, but they were certainly bizarre. Some of them were labeled with scribbled toddlers' handwriting – labels that were obviously just random collections of letters, since they said strange things like 'Hoggle' and 'Ludo.' They were sweet, and Jessie paused to study them briefly, a small smile playing on her face. The last time she'd even attempted to draw something had been when she was about ten. After that she'd just lost interest in drawing and other artistic stuff; it just lost its magic for her. Anyway, it wasn't a great loss to the world; as far as Jessie could remember, even at ten her drawings had looked just as muddled and horrible as those these preschoolers had drawn.

Shaking her head quickly to clear the aura of nostalgia from her mind, Jessie pushed open the doors at the top of the stairs and walked into the children's library.

It was an almost breathtakingly magical place. There were huge, handmade paper trees hanging everywhere, creating the illusion of a forest, and the carpet was lush green so that it looked like she was walking out of doors. The room was lighted primarily by an entirely glass roof, which showed what the sky outside was doing. It was extraordinarily sunny out that day, and the light shining through made the room feel like an actual forest. Amongst the false trees, shelves peeped out, labeled with elegant calligraphy and pictures of oddball creatures. There were stuffed animals of every kind sitting on the shelves, holding up chapter books and playing hide-and-seek amongst the picture books.

At the far end of the library, there was a clearing amongst the shelves and paper trees. Jessie traced a path through to this open space. It was a blue-carpeted area with a comfy chair at its head – presumably to be used for story time. The checkout desk was to the right of this set-up, its front also smothered in bad but cute drawings of everything from cars to flowers to Big Bird to the Little Mermaid. Jessie was just kneeling down to look at these pictures when a librarian emerged from amongst the shelves. She was probably in her forties; her hair was the color of steel, but it was cut and curled prettily to frame a face that looked remarkably young. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and didn't look particularly severe or old lady-like at all. _Dear God, I have __**got**__ to stop stereotyping these people,_Jessie told herself severely.

"Can I help you?" the librarian asked, sounding both pleasant and disgruntled at the same time – a very impressive feat.

Jessie stood up, blushing in embarrassment. "Um, hi," she said, pushing a stray strand of blonde hair from her face and holding out her hand to shake. "I'm Jessie. I'm looking for some information on a coworker of yours – Sarah Thomas?"

"Oh, Sarah," the woman said, her face clouding. "If you're hoping to hear the next installment in her Labyrinth story, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. She's not here today."

"I realize that," Jessie said, removing her badge and holding it out to the woman. "Her husband has reported her missing. That's why I'm here."

The woman's eyes widened at the sight of the badge, and suddenly she looked very stricken. "Oh, no," she said, pressing a hand over her heart. "Poor Sarah… do you have any idea where she is?"

"We're doing our best," Jessie said, putting her badge away. "She was only just reported missing as of this morning. But I need to talk to you about her. What's your name?"

The woman sat down on the edge of the checkout desk, still looking rather shell-shocked. "Oh, God," she murmured. "I'm sorry… I'm Shelly Smith. I'm the main supervisor down here. I run most of the children's programs."

"And you hired Sarah to work here about a year ago, yes?"

"Yes," Shelly said, nodding slowly. "Her stories were just… amazing. Everybody loved her instantly. And her enthusiasm for her stories was absolutely contagious. She was great with the kids, too. She's just… she's wonderful. And she hasn't disappointed us before today. But… but that's because she's gone missing, isn't it?"

"Yes," Jessie said with a nod. "She probably disappeared sometime last night, although we're not certain yet. I need to hear about her day at work yesterday – if she seemed agitated or upset or anything like that."

"Actually, yesterday was her best day yet," Shelly said, a smile breaking across her face. "When I first heard her tell stories – before I hired her – she was telling her twins about this place called the Labyrinth. Ever since everybody's wanted to hear more about it – but she's refused. But yesterday she started up about the Labyrinth again, and everyone was just… breath taken."

"Wait," Jessie said sharply, holding up a hand to stop Shelly from speaking. "The Labyrinth, you said?"

"Yes," Shelly said with a nod. "Have you heard anything about it before?"

"Well, it might be relevant to my investigation," Jessie said, chewing her lip. "What, exactly, is the story of the Labyrinth?"

Shelly pushed herself up from the desk and started to walk past Jessie. "It'll be a lot easier if I just show you the tape," she said. "We record all of Sarah's story times so we can have them on hand. We also like to send them out to other libraries to see if they want her to come visit. Everybody we've sent them to loves her, of course. You'll just have to see for yourself."

Jessie followed Shelly into a back room hidden behind some shelves. The room was small, but it had a couch and a TV in it – a break room of sorts. Otherwise it was unfurnished, and the floor was only hard, cracked cement. "I think the tape's already in," Shelly said as Jessie sat on the couch. "Hang on while I get it all set up… there we go."

The screen flickered, and Sarah Thomas, missing person, appeared in full view on the screen. She was quite a beautiful woman, Jessie thought in amazement; her face was a bright oval, her skin flawless, her eyes stunning green even through the grainy recording of the video camera. Her dark hair flowed elegantly all around her, framing her face perfectly. Jessie felt a momentary stab of envy – and then forgot everything as the Sarah in the tape began to speak…

* * *

_Sarah had told herself multiple times that morning that she shouldn't say a word about the Labyrinth. She had berated herself for even wanting to while she fed Marie and Elizabeth breakfast; she had repeatedly warned herself of the consequences for even bringing it up in her story while she drove to work; and she had coolly resolved that nothing even remotely related to the Labyrinth would be brought into the tale of the morning._

_But when she opened her mouth to speak in front of all those still, breathless children and their babysitters, grandparents, and parents, the words that came out were these:_

_"In the center of a Labyrinth, deep underground, there lived a Goblin King."_

_It had momentarily stunned her that she had spoken such words at all; but what had stunned her further with the squeals of delight from all the children, including her own, and the burst of applause from the adults. Even Shelly, from behind the camera, began to applaud and squeal just like the children. Sarah couldn't keep the smile from her face. And suddenly, she was far too involved with the story to stop._

_"He was not quite what you would expect a Goblin King to be, for he looked nothing like the subjects that he ruled; he was tall and golden-haired and handsome, human in appearance yet unearthly. He struck awe in the hearts of all the goblins and every human who ever saw him – but those humans were few…_

_"The Goblin King spent most of his time amusing himself by kidnapping the children of the humans who lived above his kingdom and setting them to the challenge of his Labyrinth – for although he was handsome, he was twisted and cruel and cared nothing for the feelings of those who lived Above. For many long years, he kidnapped small children and turned them into goblins, watching as human after human failed to solve the great Labyrinth._

_"One day, while the Goblin King watched the earth above through a magic crystal, he spotted a beautiful human girl walking by a crystal clear lake, looking mournful. Her beauty captured his attention, and he watched her for a long time. And soon he learned that the girl was the only child of the loveliest queen in the world, and that the queen had died and a wicked, ice-hearted, and ugly woman had taken her place on the throne. She enslaved the beautiful girl and forced her to work all day for her spoiled brother._

_"As the days passed, he continued to watch the girl, and he began to fall in love with her. So once, when she was sitting alone by a well, he appeared before her. At first she was terrified of him, but he did everything in his power to calm her until at last she trusted him. Then he offered her an extraordinary gift: he told her that he would take away her brother and make him a goblin if she asked it of him, so that all her troubles would be gone and she would be free._

_"But the girl loved her little brother and wanted to protect him despite the treatment of her stepmother, and she refused the Goblin King's gift. Angered by her rejection, the Goblin King disappeared and left her alone in the castle walls – but told the girl that should she ever change her mind, all she need do was call his name, and he would take away the baby boy._

_"Yet the girl's willpower was stronger than the Goblin King had anticipated, and although he watched and waited many long days, she did not give in. Finally, he resorted to trickery to get what he wished – for he wanted to trap the girl in the Labyrinth, so that he could take her as his prize and keep her in his castle forever and ever. So he sent the girl a dream – a nightmare in which she was being chased by hundreds and hundreds of horrid goblins, and she couldn't escape from them. In the dream, it seemed to her that the only way to save herself was to cry out for the Goblin King – but some part of her resisted. And the goblins kept closing in… closer… and closer… and closer… until the word burst almost unbidden from her:_

_"JARETH!"_

_The scream made the children gasp and parents stumble backwards. For a moment, Sarah was completely still, staring at them blankly. Then, in a voice so low the camera almost didn't catch it, she whispered:_

_"And so the Goblin King's will was fulfilled, and the baby boy whom the girl had tried so hard to protect was taken away to the castle beyond the Goblin City, where Jareth would keep him forever and ever… unless the girl could find her way through the maze to his castle…"_

_She paused. The audience stared at her anxiously. Then a smile broke out across her face. "And you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear what she does," she said with a grin. "Have fun today, everyone!"_

_A series of disappointed groans and cries met Sarah's announcement, but she simply waved them off. Then she sank back into the chair, leaning her head against the chair's back and closing her eyes tightly, her thoughts drifting to a certain Goblin King and his realm down below…_

* * *

Jessie was momentarily stunned into silence when the tape shut off. She'd been so involved in the story that she'd completely forgotten her original purpose in watching it. She shook her head rapidly as though to clear the cobwebs and tried to get back to business. "That… wow. She's quite extraordinary," she said admiringly.

Shelly smiled sadly. "She really is," she said. "And I was really looking forward to finding out what she had planned next. But I guess… I guess that can't happen yet, can it? Not until you find her."

Jessie nodded, going back over the story in her head, sifting through it for important details. Suddenly, one hit her like a slap across the face: "Jareth!"

Shelly looked perplexed. "What about him?" she asked.

Jessie leapt up from the couch. "She said Jareth was the Goblin King," she said incredulously. "Is that… is that who he is?"

Shelly was looking both amused _and_ perplexed now. "Yes," she said. "Interesting name, isn't it? Probably an odd version of her husband's name. At least, that would be my guess. Why? Have you heard of Jareth before?"

Jessie frowned darkly. "Her husband said she talked a lot about a guy named Jareth," she said. "He told me that he thought they'd been friends since high school days or something. Is it possible she based the character Jareth off a real person?"

Shelly shrugged. "It's not improbably, I suppose," she said. "But it seems more likely that it was just a name she made up to fit the story. Although…" She looked thoughtful. "She _did_ talk about him with a lot of passion for a made-up character," she admitted. "I don't know. If he _is_ a real person, we don't know him."

Jessie sighed in disappointment. "Well, I'll just work with what I have on him, I guess," she said. She glanced back at the TV, almost as though she was hoping the tape would start up again of its own accord. "After she told the story, did she seem… odd?"

Shelly nodded. "Oh, definitely," she said. "She was very much lost in space after that. She looked a little upset about something, too – I don't know what. She didn't socialize like she normally does after story time – she just came in here and sat on the couch, staring at the wall. I was a little worried about her. But I thought she'd probably be fine. I guess… I guess I was wrong." Shelly sighed. "I'm sorry, she wouldn't talk to anyone about what was bothering her. That's all I can really tell you."

Jessie nodded, chewing her lower lip again. "Can I borrow this tape?" she requested. "It may be of some use to me in my investigation."

Shelly popped the tape out. "Anything to get Sarah back," she said, but she still seemed reluctant to part with the almost magical item.

"I'll give it back to you when the investigation is over, I promise," Jessie said.

Shelly shot her a look that said, _You'd better._ "I… I hope you find what you're looking for," she said, wringing her hands a little. "Please find Sarah for us. She means a lot to this place… to us."

"I'll try, Shelly," Jessie promised. "I'll try."

* * *

Sarah was laying on Jareth's bed, flat on her back, green eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. She had noticed, after Jareth had disappeared, that he had had the arch above his bed painted with her picture – as she had appeared at the masquerade ball. She had been gazing at her mirror reflection above her head for the better part of an hour, staring into her very own painted green eyes and trying to avoid the memory that was persistently attempting to surface.

_No, no, no, no! It's not his fault! He didn't say it! He can't have said it! He loves me, he doesn't believe in the Labyrinth, he doesn't believe in Jareth, he can't… no no no no no!_

She gave a frustrated sigh and rolled onto her stomach, trying to avoid the eyes of her double. She closed her eyes tightly and cuddled against a pillow, halfway hoping to fall asleep again.

But if she fell asleep, she would dream of Jareth… and she didn't want to think about him right now, didn't want to think about what it meant when she dreamt of him, didn't want to think about how badly she'd missed him or how her heart had leapt when she saw him or how she'd been looking for him, hoping for him for so long…

_No…_

The memory was rising unbidden before her eyes. Her mind focused, the image sharpened, and she couldn't escape it…

_"SARAH!"_

_Sarah's head jerked sharply towards the door. "Red's home," she said, turning to Jareth._

_Anger momentarily contorted Jareth's features. "I'm not leaving," he said stubbornly._

_"Jareth, you have to."_

_"I don't. I'm King of the Goblins. Mortals can't make me do anything."_

_"Maybe most mortals can't, but I can," Sarah said, going to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly. "Jareth, please… go."_

_He stared at her intently, touched her face with delicate fingers, and then murmured, "I'll be back for you, Sarah. I'll never let you go…"_

_Sarah understood that by these rather ominous words he meant that he loved her. She reached up to touch his hair, then turned and fled her studio, down the stairs to the kitchen._

_"SARAH!"_

_"I'm COMING!" Sarah yelled, rushing down the winding staircase._

_Red was waiting for her at the base. "We had an agreement!" he shouted the moment he spotted her on the stairs. "You promised me!"_

_"What are you talking about?" Sarah demanded, stopping on the stairs._

_"You promised you'd never tell about the Labyrinth again!" Red exclaimed. "You promised me!"_

_Sarah glared at him and pushed past him, heading for the kitchen. "To them it's just a story," she said coolly._

_"But not to you!"_

_Sarah turned on him, crossing her arms over her chest. "How did you hear about it, anyway?" she questioned._

_"One of the ladies I work with takes her daughter to story time every morning," he said, anger edging his voice. "She came in raving about your story – said she couldn't wait to hear the next installment. She wanted to hear about Jareth." He glared coldly at her. "Why does it always come back to Jareth?"_

_"Because he's Jareth," Sarah said, turning away, "And I love him."_

_Red's eyes narrowed. "You __**what**__?" he repeated. "You love him?"_

_Sarah didn't stop walking._

_Red suddenly started after her. "What about me?" he demanded, grabbing her arm. "What about __**me**__, Sarah? Do you love __**me**__? Does this mean nothing to you? I mean… I… God damn it!" He turned and punched the wall. "Sarah, how can you be in love with some imaginary entity when I'm here for you every single day?"_

_"He's not imaginary," Sarah said wearily. "He's a real being, whether or not you believe in him."_

_Red stared at her in disbelief. "You need help," he said, shaking his head rapidly. "You need to get help, right now."_

_Sarah turned on him in frustration. "Red, I swear to God, if you say that one more time I'll summon the goblins to take me away!" she said, a bit sarcastically – Jareth might love her, but she was fairly certain that didn't mean the goblins would come to her if she called them._

_"I wish the goblins __**would**__ take you away – right now!" Red exploded._

_And suddenly the world was spinning, and everything was going dark…_

Sarah's eyes snapped open. "Oh God…" she whispered.

He'd said the words. Jared, Red, her husband, had said the words. He had sent her here – albeit accidentally – and he had left her to Jareth.

Wait…

Sarah leapt out of bed and ran to the door. She threw herself against it, hoping it would open. It did, much more easily than Sarah had expected it would. She stumbled and tripped down the stairs, landing on her knees. "Damn," she mumbled, flushing darkly. She stood, hoping to recover some dignity, and started down the stairs as quickly as possible, hoping they would lead to the throne room – and Jareth.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Jessie arrived on the porch of the Thomas household at exactly five fifty-five. Jessie tended to be slightly superstitious, and she'd been told that when the time on the clock showed all the same numbers – like two twenty-two, for example, or one eleven – then she could make a wish, and it would be granted. She closed her eyes and silently wished that she would find the answers to what had happened to Sarah with her children. Then, without opening her eyes, she lifted her hand and knocked on the heavy wooden door of the house.

Red answered, looking haggard. He seemed surprised to see her. "Oh, hi," he said, frowning slightly in confusion.

Jessie smiled politely. "Six o'clock," she said, tapping her watch. "Remember? I said I'd come over to interview the girls."

Red tucked his lower lip between his teeth as he thought about it; then the memory seemed to return to him. "Oh, right, right, right!" he said, swinging open the screen door and holding it open for her. "I'm so sorry I forgot… it's been a very weird day."

"I'll bet it has been," Jessie said sympathetically. "Any word on Sarah?"

"Nothing," Red said with a sad sigh. "She's still just… gone. Like she vanished into thin air." He shrugged helplessly. "The girls haven't spoken to me all day. They're upstairs, in their bedroom. Here, I'll show you."

"Wait," Jessie said quickly. Red turned back to look at her with a polite but confused expression. She hesitated, remembering Ian's mention of Sarah's empty afternoons. "Does… does Sarah have a studio?"

Red nodded. "Yeah, it's on the same floor as the girls' room," he said. "Why?"

"I'd like to look through her things," Jessie said. "Just to see if there are any hints of why she might have… where she might have gone."

Red looked suspicious, but finally he nodded. "Yeah, sure, that should be fine," he said tiredly. "If it'll help you find Sarah…"

He turned and led her into the foyer of the house, then up a winding staircase to the third floor of the house. The staircase was ornate, but decaying – like something out of a fairy tale book, but so ancient and uncared for that it was falling into disrepair.

"This is an interesting house for an accountant," Jessie observed, looking around. All along the stairs there were woodcarvings of delicate fairies flitting about in the woods. Occasionally a grotesque goblin face, leering out at the passerby, interrupted the beautiful visual. There were chunks missing from the carvings and chips from the fairies' wings, faces, and skirts. The goblins, interestingly, seemed to be entirely intact.

"Yeah, Sarah picked it out," Red said, keeping his eyes on the once-rich crimson carpet of the spiraling stairs. "It's really old. It's been falling apart for a while, but I haven't had time to do anything about it and we haven't had the money anyway. But she likes it all right like this. So do the girls, actually."

"What about you?" Jessie asked.

He finally looked up from the carpet, pausing on some stairs. "I… don't know," he said slowly. "Sometimes I feel like the house is watching me, or something. It's ridiculous, but something about the place feels very… alive. And I'm not sure that I like it that way." He shook his head and continued his climb up the stairs, his eyes dropping down to the floor. "But it certainly has a lot of character," he said cheerily. "Sarah likes to set up a haunted house every year at Halloween. It's the best one in the neighborhood. She gets all her and her mom's theater friends to come down and bring their costumes and make-up and stuff, and they get all dressed up and set up these amazing stage effects. Last year we had people coming from three hours away to go through. We should start charging admission."

Jessie laughed. "Sounds like a great time," she said. "Halloween's my favorite holiday."

"Sarah's too," Red said. "You should come through this year – once we've found Sarah, of course."

Jessie decided that now was probably not the time to bring up the fact that Sarah might never be found. "You said she has friends in the theater?"

Red nodded. "Her mom's a famous actress," he said, "And Sara does community theater every summer. The girls are due to be in the first production in June. They're very excited." They reached the top of the staircase, on the third floor of the great old house. There was a sense of mystery and faded grandeur about the whole floor; there were gilt lamps all the way down the hall that had had electric bulbs clumsily installed from the days when they were originally lit with candles, the carpet was covered in ornate swirling patterns, and the walls were painted entirely with a forest scene where wood nymphs and centaurs were dancing. The paint was peeling, but in some way it was still strangely beautiful.

"Wow," Jessie said, momentarily breathless. "This place is _amazing_. How did you find it?"

Red shrugged. "I think her mom found it for her," he said. "We both loved it the instant we saw it. I've always loved houses with histories – I like history a lot, sorta my secret passion, actually. But I haven't had much time to look for information on the place. I just wish we could fix it up. Sarah patched up the girls' room and her studio, but hasn't been able to do anything else since."

The corridor's right branch ended in front of two huge, ornate double doors, carved with more sneering goblin faces. There was something weirdly disturbing about the doorway; its handles were brass snakes twining around each other. Their heads were turned back to stare at Red and Jessie, mouths open wide as though they were about to strike. Their long fangs protruded from their mouths, threatening death by venom. It seemed far too creepy to be a bedroom for small girls. "Quite an entryway for a bedroom," she observed.

"Yeah, we think it probably used to be a guest room or a study," Red said. He motioned to the left. "The room in that direction is Sarah's study."

Jessie turned towards the study, hoping for a less ominous greeting – but that door was even worse. Its enormous double doors were even more ornately decorated; the wood was carved with life-size figures of a faerie king and queen, terrible but beautiful. Their eyes glared out at Jessie, almost distrustful. The handles of this doorway came together to form a large, horned goblin head – the horns provided the handles on which one pulled.

Jessie glanced back at Red uncertainly. "I think this doorway is creepier than the one your girls have," she said, making a face.

Red laughed nervously, raking a hand through his brown hair. "I've never gone in there before," he admitted. "It's… well, it's Sarah's room. It's her place to be… herself. I don't touch it."

Jessie had seen a lot of rooms like that in her time as an officer. People who went missing tended to have rooms bursting at the seams with secrets… "All right, well, I'll have to go through it," she sighed. "Would you like to watch?"

Red shook his head rapidly. "No, no, that's all right," he said, holding up his hands and backing away. "You… you do what you need to up here. The girls' room is over there; just go knock on the door when you're through in here."

Jessie frowned at his reluctance to be involved at all, but she nodded and turned towards the towering doors before her. She heard Red's retreating footsteps as he hurried down the stairs, but she said nothing to call him back. She drew in a deep breath, and then threw the doors wide.

She'd halfway expected some kind of monster to jump out at her, but the room was completely, utterly still. The room was painted entirely white – the furniture was white, the carpet was white, the walls and ceiling were white. The lamps were white. It was peculiarly blank inside, as though everything were a canvas waiting to be painted. It was something of a shock after the ornately decorated house, full of faeries and goblins and mystical creatures of all variety. Besides the blankness of the walls and furniture, there were neatly organized shelves placed all about the room. The contents of the shelves were in perfect order – books were stacked neatly on the shelves in alphabetical order by title and also arranged by subject; CDs and cassette tapes were arranged the same way by their player on one shelf in a corner of the room. Almost nothing was out of place – except for a book of poetry sitting face down and open on a cushy white chair.

Jessie stepped towards the chair and reached out trembling fingers for the book. She read its title, taking it in and memorizing it: _Tremble_, by C.D. Wright. She lifted it from the seat of the chair. It was open to an extremely abstract poem entitled "Like Peaches." Jessie tried to read it, then shook her head; she couldn't quite see the appeal of the poem. She wasn't even certain she knew what it was about. Maybe Sarah didn't know what it was about either, but she had circled the title in blue ink.

There was another poem dog-eared later in the book, this one titled "Gift of the Book." It read:

_lights go off_

_all over_

_rhode island_

_everyone falls_

_into bed_

_I stay awake_

_reading_

_rereading_

_the long-awaited_

_prose_

_of your_

_body_

_stunned_

_by the hunger  
_

A third poem, titled "In a Piercing and Sucking Species," particularly caught Jessie's attention. It was also dog-eared, but it was marked up with red pen, more so than either of the other poems. She had circled two particular sections; the first read:

_the presences of his absence_

_disturbs the absence_

_of his presence sometimes_

And the second:

_more sometimes less_

_in dreams they go forward_

There were penciled notes next to both series of lines. Next to the first, she had written the words _"Jareth," "Labyrinth," _and _"I miss him so much some days it kills me." _Beside the second, it merely said, _"Only in dreams…"_

Jessie huffed and plopped into chair. It didn't make any sense. It seemed as though this Sarah was absolutely, unequivocally out of her mind – that she believed in some crazy fairyland Labyrinth that could never possibly exist – but everyone Sarah knew would probably testify to her sanity. And there was of course the issue of Jareth. Either he was the Goblin King, or an old high school lover come back from the past to haunt Sarah.

Jessie groaned in frustration and tossed the book onto Sarah's desk. "What the hell?" she said to herself, rubbing a hand across her eyes. "What is your deal, Sarah?"

She glanced at Sarah's desk and caught sight of a black notebook and sketchbook, closed. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes catching on the multi-colored ribbons hanging from the book. She stood, walked over to the desk, and opened the notebook to the first page. She almost swore aloud again when she read the title page: _The Labyrinth_.

She turned the page and found another title page – a chapter title. The contents of the chapter described the inhabitants of the Labyrinth, along with detailed sketches of each creature that was mentioned. There were details galore in regards to the characters Hoggle and Ludo (Jessie remembered that she had seen crude drawings of the same creatures on the library door). The chapter afterwards described Sarah's path through the Labyrinth, and the chapter after that focused on any faerie lore that Sarah could find.

The final chapter, and the one Jessie found most significant, focused entirely on Jareth, supposed Goblin King. They were sketches of him – his face, his clothes, the cane he carried, even the peculiar necklace he wore. There were descriptions of what his supposed duties as Goblin King were, from varying sources; his allegiances (which varies frequently and didn't seem to last very long); his personality; and, apparently of the greatest importance, there was a list of his limitations when he was outside of his kingdom.

As far as Jessie could see, Sarah was treating Jareth the Goblin King as a real person – but he most certainly couldn't be, not in the capacity in which Sarah pictured him. And how could Red not know that Sarah believed Jareth was King of an imaginary realm? Maybe Sarah had tried to hide his supposed identity, but that didn't make much sense since she'd apparently told Red about the Labyrinth. Wouldn't Jareth have been mentioned at least once?

Jessie snapped the notebook closed and slung it under her arm. It seemed like she would need it to deal with this case. In the meantime, she was going to talk to Sarah's twins to see if they could shed any light on this most peculiar of situations.

* * *

Jareth frowned at the crystal orb in his hand, eyes narrowed on the face of his adversary. Officer Jessie Barry wasn't particularly impressive to him in any form, but he got the feeling there was some nasty little secret about her that would leap out and bite him on his perfectly thin, straight nose at any moment. He drummed his gloved fingers on the arm of his throne as he watched her walk out of Sarah's study. She walked with a purpose, but her expression made him think her mind was elsewhere.

She was a pretty human, he supposed; her face was a flat plane on which sharp, bright blue eyes, an average-sized nose, and large pouting lips had been placed. It was an odd sort of pretty, but it was pretty nonetheless. He tilted his head slightly to the side as he watched her stop before the twins' door; she had none of the easy grace of Sarah's movements and she wasn't nearly as beautiful, but she had a strength about her figure that was, admittedly, a bit intimidating.

He doubted that her involvement would lead to any sort of interference in his plans – after all, the time for the Labyrinth run was long over by this point, and anyway he doubted that such a strong, practical woman believed in his realm at all. In fact, she was utterly convinced that he was some mere human like herself – a friend of Sarah's from her teenage years. He snorted. Even when the evidence spoke directly of the opposite, she wouldn't believe it. Not unless she was transported to the Labyrinth itself, and he had no intention of letting _that_ happen…

"Jareth, we need to talk."

Sarah's voice cut across his thoughts and made him smile despite himself. "Can it wait?" he asked her. "I'm just doing a little research on my enemy."

"Enemy?" Sarah repeated, more curiously than anything else. "Who is it? Are you watching Red?"

"Why do you call him that?" Jareth asked curiously, tossing the crystal up into the air and watching it disappear. "It seems an odd thing to use a color as a pet name."

Sarah – appropriately – reddened. "It has to do with his actual name," she said defensively. "His name is Jared, and the last part is 'red,' so I started calling him that. Now everyone does."

"You know what I think?" Jareth said, turning in his throne so that his legs were swung up over the throne's arm. "I think the similarity between our names began to grate on you, because every time you heard the name 'Jared' you wanted it to be 'Jareth' instead. So you started calling him Red to separate yourself from me as much as possible."

"That's ridiculous!" Sarah exclaimed, but her cheeks were flaming.

"Is it indeed?" Jareth said in amusement. He lifted his hand and motioned to her with two gloved fingers. "Come here," he ordered.

She drew herself up stiffly. "No," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jareth looked slightly pained. "Sarah," he sighed. "_Please_. If you didn't come into the throne room to see me, then what are you doing here?"

"Actually it was something of an accident," she said in embarrassment. "I wanted to see if the door was open and, miraculously, it was. That was rather stupid of you, by the way."

"Not really, since despite having an escape route open to you, you came immediately to find me," Jareth observed. He laughed brilliantly when he saw the expression of horror and then denial on her face. He decided not to mention the fact that, although the door had been left open, he had made certain whatever paths she chose would lead her directly to the throne room – and him. "Oh, Sarah," he chuckled. He motioned again. "Come here. Sit with me."

"There's only room for you in that throne," Sarah pointed out.

Jareth arched an elegant brow. "I imagine I can find a way to accommodate you," he said with a smirk.

Sarah glared stonily at him. "I'll stand, thank you very much."

Now he returned her glare broodingly. "Sarah," he said with a touch of menace, "Don't defy me."

Her eyes challenged him. "You can't make me," she said childishly, and he halfway expected her to stick her tongue out at him.

"Oh _really_?" He lifted a hand and summoned Sarah to him with a snap of his fingers. Before she could even blink, she had miraculously fallen into the Goblin King's lap. He grinned at the very confused girl whose head was now resting on his shoulder. "You may want to take that back," he noted.

Sarah clenched her teeth and made to leap away from him, but he caught her tightly around the waist with both arms, which left her flailing rather awkwardly on top of him. "Damn it!" she finally swore, beating a fist on Jareth's chest and then going limp. "You vicious little bastard!"

He grinned. "Why, thank you, dear Sarah," he said. He leaned in to kiss her, but she ducked her head and buried her face in his shoulder to avoid it – so he kissed the top of her head instead. "Your hair smells good," he observed, somewhat surprised.

Sarah looked up in astonishment – and then Jareth dove in and kissed her before she could stop him. She gave a sharp cry and started squirming, then thrashing when Jareth wouldn't let go. Finally she managed to push him off. "Jareth!" she cried indignantly. "Let me go! Let me go right now!"

He sighed melodramatically and released her. She pushed herself off of the throne, then slid down in front of it with an injured huff. "What were you watching when I came in?" she asked when she felt she had sufficiently recovered.

Jareth's smile evaporated instantly. "Red, as you so insistently call him, has someone out searching for you," he told her. He frowned as he noticed a considerable amount of dust on his boots, and he shouted, "GIMBLE!"

A stout little creature with large ears and a pinched face waddled into the room, his beady eyes staring down at the floor. He was so focused on the floor that he didn't notice Sarah until he bumped into her leg; then he fell over with a squeal. He popped his head up and glared at her, then said something rude to her so quickly that she didn't understand a word of it. Jareth apparently did, because suddenly the goblin was shrieking as earwigs spilled from his trousers.

The earwigs disappeared almost as soon as they had appeared, and the goblin fell down on the floor and groveled. "Sorrysorrysorrysorry!" he yelped.

"You'd better be," Jareth said, settling back in the throne. "That's your queen you're insulting."

"I'm not -!" Sarah protested, but Jareth interrupted immediately.

"She is," he said insistently. He swung one leg down to the ground and added, "My boots need to be polished."

The goblin set about the job at once, tugging an old rag from inside his shirt while still staring at Sarah – now with wide, curious eyes that were regarding her with a mixture of fear, awe, and cautious happiness. "Does she hit and kick?" he asked, plainly hoping for a negative answer.

Jareth's cane seemed to appear from nowhere, and he smacked the goblin over the head with it. "She can if she chooses," he said threateningly. "Now shut up and do your job."

The goblin, obviously disheartened, set about his work again. Jareth seemed perfectly happy to sit in silence while Gimble the goblin cleaned his boots, but Sarah recalled far too plainly that _someone_ at least was looking for her. "Who's searching for me?" she asked. "Who's Red sent after me?"

Jareth looked exasperated. "Some human," he said disdainfully. "I believe she's part of your law enforcement system."

"A police officer?" Sarah said.

"Something like that." Jareth glanced at her and frowned. "She won't find you, you know."

"She?" Sarah repeated.

"Yes, _she_. But she won't find you. She doesn't even believe the Labyrinth exists, so you'd best stop hoping to be rescued right now."

Sarah didn't seem to hear him. "Red must have reported me missing," she said to herself. "So then the law's out looking for me…" She tapped her fingers on the stone floor and turned to Jareth. "And I still need to talk to you."

Jareth frowned. "About?"

Sarah drew in a deep breath. "I… uh… I remembered," she said, stuttering a little. "About… about Red."

Jareth smiled. "Oh, good," he said. "Then what's the trouble?"

"I need to know what happened after I was brought here," Sarah said carefully. "All I remember is… Red saying the words."

"That would be all you remember," Jareth said, a bit sarcastically. "After all, you weren't there for my visit. You were in my bed, looking ridiculously and unfairly enticing for being asleep."

Sarah blushed very deeply, and Jareth grinned at her. Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and demanded, "Tell me what happened."

"Better yet, I'll _show_ you," Jareth said, conjuring a crystal. He tossed it in the air; it hung there, and images began to flicker through it.

_Red was gaping at the empty place where Sarah had been standing only moments before when Jareth burst through the window in a rush of owl-wings. He transformed himself into his human shape, tall, dark, and ominous looking. He surveyed his competition with cold eyes, then spoke. "You won't find her here any longer."_

_Red spun around to face Jareth. He stared at him with wide, frightened eyes, backing away in terror. "Who… who the hell are you?" he demanded._

_Jareth leveled a contemptuous gaze at him. "I think you know," he said._

_Red shook his head. "No, it… you can't… you can't be… Jareth?"_

_Jareth applauded in a bored manner. "Good boy," he drawled._

_Red's eyes narrowed, and he drew himself up. "What did you do to Sarah?" he demanded. "Where did you take her?"_

_"To my palace," Jareth said, gesturing out the window. The Labyrinth appeared through the pane of glass. "Just like you asked."_

_"I didn't ask!" Red cried. "I didn't say anything!"_

_"Oh, but you did," Jareth said. "Don't you remember? You said the words."_

_"I wish… oh," Red murmured, eyes widening as realization dawned. "Oh, God…"_

_Jareth smirked. "She'll stay with me now," he said. "She'll live in my palace with me. She'll be well treated there; I'll see to that. She's in the best hands."_

_Red's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure she is," he said slowly. "She… she loves you. But I suppose you know that."_

_The gloating expression on Jareth's face was infuriating. "I do," Jareth said, his voice low. "I assure you, I do."_

_There was much implied in that statement. Red's face twisted in anger, and he turned and kicked the wall, hard. "God damn it!" he swore furiously._

_Jareth watched him in amusement. "Kicking your wall won't help you," he said to the irate man._

_Red turned to him. "I suppose you have a better idea?" he spat._

_Jareth motioned dramatically towards the window. "I always do," he said. "That is my Labyrinth. I'm sure you've heard about it."_

_Red nodded slowly._

_"If you want Sarah back, then you can attempt to make your way through it," Jareth continued. "If you can make it to the center of the Labyrinth – and my castle – in thirteen hours, then you and Sarah can return home."_

_"And if I were to fail?" Red questioned timidly._

_Jareth smiled cruelly. "Then Sarah belongs to me," he said._

_Red stared blankly at the Labyrinth for a moment; then he turned away. "This isn't happening," he said, almost hysterically. "This isn't real. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming all this."_

_Jareth frowned. "It's not a dream," he said. "You must decide if you want to save Sarah now."_

_"You're not real!" Red said wildly. "You're not here; you don't exist! Sarah made you up! I'm dreaming this… I'm dreaming this. It's… it's…" His eyes lit up with a frightened lunacy. "It's a coping mechanism," he mumbled. "That's what it is. Sarah… Sarah's gone, and I'm trying to deal with it by… by using her Labyrinth story. Because I miss her."_

_Jareth stared at him in disbelief. "Do I take this to mean that you're giving Sarah to me?" he asked incredulously. "Do you not intend to fight for her?"_

_"Go away!" Red cried. "You're not real! Go away!"_

_Jareth held up his hands. "As you wish," he said softly, and in a whirl of his cloak he disappeared._

* * *

"After that I stayed in the bedroom with you until you awoke," Jareth said, making the crystal disappear with a snap of his fingers. "I hadn't expected things to go so… easily. I had assumed you would have married someone as equally determined as you. Instead I found… _that._" Jareth snorted in disgust.

Sarah turned to glare at him. "Don't you dare mock him!" she ordered. "He… he was a good man, and a good father."

"And a good husband?"

Sarah sighed. "He tried," she said, shaking her head. "We're just… very different. That's all."

Jareth studied her closely, frowning slightly; then he realized that Gimble had stopped polishing his boots to listen to the conversation. "What are you doing?" he asked the goblin coldly.

The goblin shrieked and began madly polishing. Jareth turned back to Sarah again. "Yes, well, I'd noticed that," he said. "You'll thrive much better here."

Sarah hesitated, then nodded. "I suppose so," she agreed, very reluctantly. After a moment she said, "I want to see who Red's hired to search for me."

Jareth smacked a fly out of the air with his cane. "I don't see how that's your concern," he said airily.

"It's my concern because she's _looking_ for me!" Sarah cried. When he didn't respond, her anger got the better of her. "If you're so certain she won't find me, then why are you afraid to show her to me or tell me where she's looked?" she challenged.

The only sign that her challenge disturbed Jareth was a lightning quick frown that was gone almost as quickly as it arrived. "If you know she's not going to be capable of finding you, why are you so concerned about her search?" he retorted.

"She's probably talking to my friends," Sarah snapped. A sad expression fell over her face, and her head dropped, her green eyes staring blankly at the dirty floor. "I'll never see _them_ again, either," she murmured despondently.

Jareth momentarily looked remorseful. He shooed Gimble from the room even though his boots were still filthy. "Come with me," he said, getting up from his throne and holding out his hand to her. "I have a gift for you."

She glared up at him through thick lashes. "If you think you can just hand me my dreams in a crystal -!"

"Clothes, actually," he said with a laugh. "And not from a crystal."

Sarah looked more curious than angry now. "Clothes?" she repeated a bit uncertainly.

"Well, you'll have to wear something while you're here," Jareth laughed. He knelt on the ground beside her and brushed her cheek with his fingers. "I thought you liked dress-up."

"I'm a little old for it," Sarah noted wryly.

"Not for _these_," Jareth assured her. "Come on. It'll take your mind off things."

Sarah chewed her lip for a moment; she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to take her mind off her current situation. She wasn't even sure she wanted to stay here in the Labyrinth, and if she wanted to escape she had to think about what was happening.

But she honestly was tired of thinking about things at the moment. It wouldn't hurt to be distracted for just a little bit. She heaved a sigh and gave Jareth her hand. "All right," she said, as though she were deeply reluctant. "I'll play dress-up for you."

He grinned widely, pulled her to her feet, and then eagerly led her down a passage Sarah had never noticed was there before, deeper into the Castle beyond the Goblin City…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Apologies for the enormous length of this chapter. I didn't actually mean for it to get so long, but there was a lot to work in. I may be a bit slow in updating in the weeks to come. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the chapter!**

CHAPTER 4

Jessie stood before the twins' bedroom door, shifting her weight back and forth. She really, _really_ didn't want to meet these children. She'd had enough weirdness for one day, and she could just picture how bizarre these kids might turn out to be. She sighed, lifted a hand, and knocked. "Marie? Elizabeth? I need to talk to you," she called.

There was a small pause, then a scampering of little feet. The doors both swung open simultaneously, at a stately, slow pace, revealing a huge room with an arched ceiling. The top of the ceiling was painted like the sky – half of it covered in bright fluffy clouds that began to fade into stars against midnight blue towards the back of the enormous room. The sky plunged downwards into tall painted trees, in which strange birds nested. Around the bases of the trees weird looking creatures peeped out, smiling, cackling, glaring – and all staring out with frighteningly real eyes.

When the doors had opened as far as they could go, there was a soft sound of shuffling and two small girls stepped out from behind either door. Jessie's breath caught in her throat as she saw them, for they were the oddest-looking children she had ever seen.

They were beautiful children, to be sure; their faces were round and young, and they had the perfectly delicate, upward-tilted noses that so many girls longed for. They had wide eyes with long and lovely lashes, and small but flawlessly rounded and pouting lips. Yet there was something beyond eerie about them. They were very, very pale, as though they never saw daylight, and their hair was similarly pale and blonde. On both, their yellow locks were straight, but stuck out every which-way, as though they could not be controlled by any brush or hairspray in the world. What was willing to stay down hung to the middle of their slender, straight backs. Both were costumed in tiny, dark green gowns that seemed like perfect replicas of ancient medieval dresses. Most disturbing of all were their eyes – for both had two different colored eyes. The left eyes were such a dark green that they almost seemed black, but the right eyes were bright, icy blue.

"Who are you?" they asked simultaneously.

Jessie blinked. Weirdly enough, something about them and the way they spoke seemed familiar. "I'm Jessie," she said, looking directly into both their eyes as though to show them she was not intimidated. "Can I come in?"

The girls glanced at each other, then turned as one and motioned her inside. Jessie followed them with a good deal of trepidation, but she didn't focus on them for long – she was soon looking about their rather extraordinary bedroom, rather than paying attention to them.

There were low shelves running the length of the walls, covered in homemade dolls and stuffed animals representing all sorts of strange creatures. There was a wardrobe on either side of the room at its middle; one had its doors standing open, revealing a vast array of costumes. There were dressers standing on either side of these wardrobes, which Jessie assumed held the girls' real clothes. One of the dressers was tipped onto the floor, its contents spilled everywhere around it. Behind it, stuffed animals and other toys were hurled haphazardly about. At the furthest end of the room, a large picture window leading to a balcony stood open, allowing the breeze inside.

Jessie tore her eyes away from the back of the room and brought it back to the children. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a small alcove that appeared to have chairs in it. "Can I sit down?" she asked politely.

The girls glanced at each other, then smiled up at her and nodded. They came to stand on either side of her, took both her hands, and led her towards the little alcove. "These are our thrones," one of them explained. "Mommy had them carved for us."

Indeed, they _were_ thrones; they were gorgeously painted and ornately carved, big enough to fit a full-grown person and cushioned with hand-embroidered pillows set onto the seat and tied to the back of the chairs. "These are very nice," Jessie said appreciatively as the girls let her sit in one of the thrones.

They sat cross-legged on the floor before her and folded their hands demurely in their laps. Jessie looked back and forth between them; they were exactly identical. "Which one of you is which?" she asked.

The one on Jessie's left announced, "I'm Marie."

The one on Jessie's right followed suit. "I'm Elizabeth."

"Well, hi, Elizabeth and Marie," Jessie said with a reassuring smile. "I'm Jessie. I'm looking for your mommy."

The two girls gave each other knowing glances. "Did Red hire you?" Marie asked.

Jessie was a little surprised to hear a four-year-old calling her father by his name – nickname or not. "Yes, he did," she said. "He's very concerned about your mommy, and he thinks you might remember what happened before she disappeared. He told me that he came home from work and found your room all messed up, and that you'd seen one of your mommy's old friends."

Both smiled serenely. "Jareth," they said at the exact same time.

Jessie nodded. "Yes, Jareth," she said. "Your daddy doesn't know anything about Jareth, but he thinks he may have something to do with your mommy's disappearance."

"He does," Elizabeth said with an excited nod.

"But it's not all his fault," Marie said, shooting her sister a stern glare. "Jareth doesn't come unless he's called, you know."

Jessie frowned. "No, I didn't know," she said. "Do you know how your mommy and Jareth know each other?"

"The Labyrinth," the girls chorused.

There was that damned Labyrinth again. "Really?" Jessie said cautiously. "How is Jareth involved with the Labyrinth?"

The girls looked at her as though she were stupid. "He owns it," Elizabeth said, as though Jessie were the four-year-old.

"Does he?" Jessie said unenthusiastically. They were leading her back towards Jareth's status as Goblin King. She pulled out a notepad and scribbled down some notes. "Do you know where it is?"

"It's in the Underworld," Elizabeth revealed.

"No," Marie said impatiently. "The _Underground_. It's below us."

Jessie wrote the quote on her notepad and put a question mark by it. "You said Jareth was in your house?" she asked. She was obviously getting nowhere with her questioning in regards to the Labyrinth; maybe if tried another tactic she'd find out something worth noting.

Both girls nodded very seriously. "We called, and he came," Elizabeth said. "But he got angry when we talked about Red. He knocked stuff over."

_Hmmm. Jealous ex-lover, perhaps?_ "Did your mommy hear that?"

"Yes, but he wasn't here when she came into our room," Marie told Jessie. "But he came back, and they talked."

"Did you hear what they were talking about?" Jessie asked.

"They were arguing," Elizabeth said, looking very sad. "We snuck out of our room and went down the hall to the door so we could hear better. They were talking about us and Red."

"What about you guys?" Jessie asked, studying both girls great curiosity.

"Lots of stuff," Marie said with a shrug. "Mostly about Red and how mommy doesn't love him and how he's not our daddy."

Jessie froze, shock bursting like a water balloon on impact inside of her. "Jared's… not your daddy?"

The girls shook their heads solemnly. "Jareth is," Marie said, by way of explanation.

_Oh, God… things just got a lot more complicated._ "Oh, I… see," Jessie said slowly. "How often have you seen your… real daddy?"

"Just last night," Elizabeth said. Her whole face lit up with a bright smile. "He's very beautiful," she told Jessie happily. "Someday he's going to take us away and we'll live with him and mommy in the Underground."

This was all a bit much for Jessie. "Did he tell you that?" she asked.

"No; he told _mommy_ that," Elizabeth said. "When they were arguing."

"Did she seem happy about it?"

Elizabeth shook her head sadly. "Not really," she said. "But when they stopped arguing she said she wanted to go away."

Jessie drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Did your mommy leave with Jareth when they stopped arguing?" she asked.

"No," Marie said in a level voice. "Red came home while they were talking, and our father left. Then she went downstairs and she and Red got in a big fight. That's when she disappeared."

Jessie's eyes flew open, and she stared penetratingly at both girls. "Jared said your mommy was gone when he got home," she told them.

They frowned at each other. "No," they said together. "That's not true."

Jessie sighed unhappily. "So she and Red fought, and then she disappeared?" Jessie asked for confirmation.

Elizabeth leaned in confidentially. "He said the words," she whispered.

Jessie looked confused. "The words?" she repeated.

Both girls nodded gravely. "If you want to send someone away, you say the right words and the goblins come and they go away," Marie explained. "He said the words."

Jessie felt dizzy and sick inside. The last part of her interview wasn't making any sense, but what the girls were telling her indicated that Jared was the actual cause of Sarah's disappearance. "I… I think that's all I need for now," she told them, her voice shaking. "It was… very nice to meet you both."

She stood and started towards the door, unsteady on her feet, but before she reached it, Marie's voice stopped her. "You're like us, aren't you?" she said – very much a statement of fact.

Jessie turned back to them, thinking that she couldn't handle much more weirdness for the day. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Marie smiled. "You're like _us_," she repeated, linking arms with Elizabeth. Their expressions were exactly matched; they were like two parts of one person standing together. Jessie felt a pang in her heart as she looked at them, and her hand reached out to the side to stroke empty air. "I… don't know what you mean," she said slowly.

Elizabeth looked up at her with large, sad eyes. "She's gone, isn't she?" she said. "We're very sorry."

Jessie felt tears well up in her eyes; of _course_ that's what they meant. "I – thank you," she choked out, trying to smile. "I was – we – thank you."

She turned on her heel and stumbled out of the room, swallowing a sob.

* * *

"Keep your eyes closed."

"Why?" Sarah asked, reaching blindly behind her. "You have your hands over my eyes!"

"I know you," Jareth said in amusement. "You'll peek."

"Will not!" Sarah exclaimed, her hands finally making contact with Jareth's body. "Why do we have to do this? I know you're taking me to try on clothes."

"You make it sound so… dull," Jareth said. "Walk forward."

Her hands flew out in front of her. "Don't walk me into a wall!" she said fearfully.

Jareth smirked. "That wasn't in my plan, but now that you mention it…"

"Jareth!"

"I'm not serious," he laughed. "Just walk."

Sarah reluctantly took a step forward, and Jareth followed, his hands still over her eyes. "Why all the secrecy?" she asked again as she felt before her with her foot.

"These aren't plain human clothes, Sarah. Do you remember that gown you wore at the masquerade ball – the one in your dreams?"

"The dreams you falsified for me?" Sarah asked impertinently.

"They were _your_ dreams," Jareth insisted. "Answer the question."

"Of course I remember that dress. It was stunning." Sarah gave a wistful little sigh.

"These are even better."

"Liar!" Sarah tripped over a loose stone and would have fallen if Jareth hadn't caught her around the waist with one arm while snapping the other hand over her eyes.

"Careful," he chuckled, pulling her back to her feet. "We're almost there. Turn to your left."

"Okay…" Sarah turned, stepping timidly around a bend. Her hands came into contact with a solid door. "Can I open the door?"

"Just push."

She did, and the door swung open. Jareth walked her forward into the room. "All right," he said, drawing his hands away. "You can open your eyes now."

Sarah's eyes flew open – and her jaw dropped. The room appeared to be endless, and it was filled with gowns of every possible color, cloth, and style. "Oh. My. God," she breathed, pressing a hand to her chest.

"I take it you like them," Jareth chuckled.

"I'd be an idiot not to," she said, reaching out to touch a crimson and gold gown nearest to her fingertips. "Where… how did you get all these?"

"Oh, I can summon rooms like this with magic," Jareth said nonchalantly. "The magic designs the clothes to the tastes of the person to wear them. It's very convenient."

"There are hundreds of them!" Sarah exclaimed, pushing her way through some of the hanging dresses to another row. The gowns seemed to swallow her, and she disappeared from Jareth's view. "How in the world am I ever going to wear all of them?"

"You have eternity to do so," Jareth said in amusement. "I think you'll find the time."

Sarah peeped her head out through some of the gowns – a sight so ridiculous that Jareth had to laugh. "Don't peek," she said severely to him. "You can't see back here, can you?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "No, I can't – unless I happen to part the dresses a little or something to that effect…"

"Don't you _dare_," Sarah warned, glaring at him. Then she disappeared behind the row of gowns again. The crimson and gold gown she had been fingering at the start disappeared from the front row.

Jareth crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, looking somewhat impatient. He tapped the toe of his boot on the floor, shifting his position every few seconds while staring at the layers of organza and velvet in front of him. "Does it _always_ take you this long to dress?" he questioned.

"I haven't been at this more than a minute," Sarah said, and Jareth could just picture the way she'd be rolling her eyes. "So you can just relax."

There was a rustling of fabric, and Sarah emerged from amongst the dresses. "How do I look?" she asked, lifting her arms and spinning a circle.

Jareth pushed himself away from the wall, staring at her admiringly. "You look… stunning," he said. The gown was made of crimson velvet and was off the shoulder; it had draping bell sleeves and a flowing skirt and train. It was embroidered with thin gold thread flowers, with gold ribbon at the neckline, waistline, and at the wrists. "All you need is a crown, and you'd look like a queen."

Sarah blushed prettily. "I don't suppose there's a mirror in here?" she asked, looking around. As soon as she spoke the words, one magically appeared. "Wow," she said in delight as she walked towards it. "I could get used to this…"

"You like the dress, then?" Jareth asked.

"Actually I meant I could get used to anything I want magically appearing when I want it, but yes, I _love_ this dress," Sarah said, admiring herself in the mirror. Her long dark hair was hanging in waves around her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. "It's been a long time since I've even worn a costume like this," she sighed wistfully.

"Not so long," Jareth said, still admiring her from the wall. "You're forgetting that masquerade party you went to with Jared a few months ago. You wore quite an attractive gown for that."

Sarah looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Been spying on me and Jared, have you?" she said dryly.

"You can't be surprised," Jareth laughed. He looked at her more seriously and said, "I'll never understand why you stayed with him."

Sarah shrugged slightly; suddenly his gaze was far too intense for her. She hurried back into the rows and rows of dresses, pulling the sultry crimson gown over her head and shuffling through the other gowns, looking for something slightly more modest. "Things weren't always as difficult as they are now with him," she said, a little defensively. "I have plenty of happy memories with Red. Lots of good times at college, stuff like that."

"Trust me, I know all about them," Jareth growled, the envy in his voice unmistakable.

Sarah smiled wryly. "I'm sure you do," she said, pulling out an enormous peacock-colored, Elizabethan style gown from amongst the others. "In fact, I think you followed me a bit more closely than you'd like me to believe."

"What in all the Labyrinth would make you say that?" Jareth asked, without sounding remotely curious. Sarah took this as confirmation that he already knew the answer, but she kept talking anyway as she slipped into the dress.

"I wouldn't say my life was exactly _normal_ after I beat the Labyrinth," she told him. "You know Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus all visited me while I was in high school?"

"Yes," Jareth said, staring shamelessly at her as she shuffled her way out into the open again.

"I'll bet," Sarah said with slightly narrowed eyes. She turned to look at herself in the mirror and went on. "They had this bad habit of making appearances at the most inconvenient times," she said. "Like that first date I had with that boy – what was his name?"

"Eric," Jareth supplied.

Sarah looked quite taken aback. "Good God, Jareth!" she said in amazement. "How do _you_ remember his name when even I don't?"

"I believe there is a mortal proverb that states, 'Know thine enemy,'" Jareth said calmly. "And that dress is enormous. You'll have trouble walking in it without knocking a goblin over."

Sarah huffed and moved back into the dresses again, determined to find something smaller and more normal looking this time. "I really liked Eric, you know," she said a bit sullenly as she stepped out of the huge, bejeweled gown.

"He was a scabby, weak little pig of a boy," Jareth retorted with considerable dislike. "So fragile that he looked like he would break if he stubbed his toe. Why in the world were you attracted to him?"

"He was the first boy who showed any interest in me," Sarah said, a warm glow starting inside her.

"'Boy' being the key word in that sentence," Jareth said contemptuously. "You had a man – an immortal, no less, the damn Goblin King, who offered you the entire world on a string – but of _course_ that wasn't enough. Sarah had to have her milky, pale, sickly little boy flings first."

"Oh, shut up," Sarah said with a touch of exasperation. "He wasn't that bad."

"I assure you, he was," Jareth said fervently. "You deserve much better."

"And I suppose you'd count yourself as 'much better'?" Sarah asked innocently. She emitted a small squeal of joy upon finding a slender, elegant hunter green gown with long sleeves.

Jareth arched both noble brows at both the remark and the squeal. "Wouldn't you?" he replied.

Of course she would, but she didn't want to admit it to him. She returned to her original thought. "Well, anyway, on me and Eric's first date, we were sitting in my room, just talking about school and theater and life in general," she said, making several indelicate grunting noises as she attempted to pull the green dress over her head, "And right as he leaned in to kiss me, Ludo burst in. He went absolutely berserk when he saw Eric and started roaring and stomping like he was being attacked by goblins with Nipper sticks."

Jareth couldn't control the smug smirk that burst across his face. "As I recall, the little scab fainted on the spot," he said with a wicked cackle. "Courageous fiber in every bone of _that_ one."

"You're terrible," Sarah said, stepping out from the dresses and spinning to show off.

"No, I'm the Goblin King," he parried.

"Same thing," Sarah retorted.

"Ouch," Jareth said in mock pain. "That was uncalled for."

"Think of it as payback for all the time you spent spying on me and ruining my love life," she said coolly. Her expression suddenly broke into a wide smile, and she laughed. "Did you see Ludo's face when I finished scolding him?" she giggled. "The poor thing. He looked so dejected. I had to promise him at least twenty times I was still his friend…"

"Yes, yes," Jareth said impatiently. "Very… er…"

"Cute?" Sarah offered as she floated to the mirror to admire herself.

Jareth wrinkled his nose. "I suppose that'd be the word for it," he said in distaste. "Really, he's just a big stupid lout. You shouldn't be so fond of him, you know."

"I'll decide who I'm fond of and who I dislike, thank you very much," Sarah said loftily, turning back to Jareth with her hands on her hips. "Anyway, he never burst into my room without permission again."

"That must have been very relieving for your… what is that word you use to describe your suitors?" Jareth asked, chewing his lip as he thought about it.

"Boyfriends," Sarah said.

"Ah," Jareth said with a nod. "How very… apt."

"What?" Sarah asked, taken aback.

"Well, they're just boys, really – not even close to being men," Jareth explained, "And they'll never get beyond being your friend, so the title seems very appropriate."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You know, Red was my boyfriend at one time," she pointed out.

"Exactly," Jareth said, raising both eyebrows.

Sarah huffed and snapped, "Well, I don't suppose you would happen to know about that time when Hoggle leapt on Alex from the bushes, would you?"

Jareth was the picture of innocence – which usually meant he was guilty of something. "I had no idea," he said in false astonishment. "I'm sad I missed it – it sounds vastly amusing."

Sarah stared at him disbelievingly. He caught the expression and widened his eyes in an obvious attempt to appear guiltless. "What?" he asked. "You don't really believe _I_ had anything to do with it, do you?"

"I'm certain you did," Sarah said. "So you can stop pretending that you're an innocent bystander in all of this."

Jareth pressed a hand to his heart. "It hurts me that you don't trust me, precious," he said, feigning wounded-ness.

"Oh, God," Sarah groaned. "You're _terrible_."

"We've been over this before," Jareth said with a mischievous little grin; "The official title is '_Goblin King_'."

"Shut it," Sarah advised. "Well, what about that time that Sir Didymus came out of nowhere and charged my third boyfriend? He totally punctured all of Jason's tires."

"Robert's," Jareth said automatically, then winced. "Damn," he sighed.

"Ha!" Sarah exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew it! I _knew_ you wouldn't be able to resist correcting me."

Jareth took his fist and beat his forehead with it briefly. When he'd finished, he glanced up towards the ceiling and confessed, "Well, I may have had _something_ to do with that one…"

"_May_ have?" Sarah repeated incredulously, but Jareth would concede nothing further. She huffed, but decided to probe in a different direction. "You know, your possessiveness surprised me at first," she told him as she moved back into the dresses to change.

"Oh?" Jareth said blandly. Sarah caught the immense curiosity at the edge of his tone and smiled.

"I don't think I really realized what you meant with your final offer in the Labyrinth," she said as she removed a black gown heavily embroidered in silver from its place. "But as I thought about it, I guess I realized that you…" She hesitated briefly; she didn't want to say "in love" and upset him.

Her uncertainty caught his attention, and he waited for a long moment before supplying the words she had feared to say: "You realized I loved you," he said, very matter-of-factly.

She blushed. "Yes," she said softly, pausing in the midst of dressing to stare blankly at the floor.

"You apparently didn't like that particular revelation," Jareth said bitterly.

She awoke from her momentary trance shook her head, a crease appearing between her brows as she frowned. "It wasn't a matter of liking or disliking it," she said, hurrying to finish putting on the dress. "At first I was flabbergasted. You would have laughed at the ridiculous expression on my face – I was in the middle of a math class when I realized. I'd been thinking about the Labyrinth to avoid actually thinking about school, and it just… hit me. My friend Lisa told me I looked like a moron most of the class with my mouth hanging open the way it was."

Jareth chuckled at the thought of Sarah staring uncomprehendingly at an immensely dry and boring mortal professor with her jaw practically dropping all the way to the floor. "Pity I missed it," he said quietly. "You said 'at first.' Then what?"

Sarah slipped out of the dresses to show off the gown she'd chosen, and Jareth nodded approvingly. "I was flattered," she answered honestly. "I didn't really understand it. I still don't, actually. I mean, I was just a girl and one who rejected you rather vehemently at that. And you were… well… the Goblin King. I just assumed you had better options."

Jareth snorted as a few of the so-called "better options" flashed through his head. "Just wait until you meet them," he said with a shake of his blonde mane. "You'll understand it then."

"I'm sure they're not that terrible," Sarah said with a slight shake of her head.

"They are," Jareth said shortly. "Trust me. You were saying?"

Sarah paused again, and Jareth inwardly braced himself for a not-so-pleasant revelation. "Well, then I was sort of… horrorstruck," she admitted, looking at the mirror rather than at him.

Jareth winced. "Did you _have_ to use such a terrible-sounding verb?" he asked.

She bit her lip, frowning in concern as she turned to look at him. "It's not what you think," she said gently. "After the incident with Eric, and then Alex, and then Robert, etc. etc. etc., I realized that there was no possible way I would ever find a human partner to spend the rest of my life with so long as you were interested – because you'd always be interfering."

"I protect my own," Jareth said, completely unruffled. "And I protect them damn well."

"You don't need to tell me that," Sarah said deprecatingly. "Trust me; I know it better than almost anyone else." She paused, then continued, "That's why I picked a college far, far away from my hometown – not that I thought that would prevent you from finding me," she said hurriedly.

"My range," Jareth said a bit ominously, "Spans the entire world. So I'm glad you weren't directly attempting to escape by going far away. It was something I expected of you anyway – to leave home and flee the tyranny of your wretched parents."

Sarah wrinkled her nose. "They're not so wretched," she said, rolling her eyes.

"You didn't think that when you were fifteen," Jareth laughed.

Sarah looked more than a bit embarrassed at that. "I was stupid when I was fifteen," she said shortly, turning away and disappearing back into the gowns. "But you know, I at least wanted to attempt to have a normal relationship at college," she revealed, returning to the original topic of conversation. "It gets very irritating trying to explain to your boyfriends why they're under attack. You have to invent some very creative excuses. You have no idea how long it took me to convince Eric he hadn't seen Bigfoot jump out of my closet."

"Yes, I do," Jareth said with a sly smile. "I helped you convince him."

"You did?" Sarah said in surprise, almost dropping the rich purple and gold velvet number she had just taken out.

"Oh yes," Jareth said. "A little spell, a little nudge there… works wonders."

Sarah made a face as she pulled the dress over her head and stepped out. "Don't try that on me," she warned.

"If you stay as stubborn as you are I may have no choice," he said with a resigned sigh. "So you've come to Jared now. Is that right?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, we've gotten to him now," she said with a small, wan smile. "When Red appeared, literally nothing seemed to drive him away. My stepmom liked him. She said he 'had both feet firmly planted on the ground.'"

"What good is that to an artist like yourself?" Jareth demanded, full goblin wrath contorting his features. "What use was he? Sarah, why the hell did you marry such a swaggering, single-minded bastard?"

Sarah sighed. "Red was… a very determined suitor," she said with a small shrug. "In fact, in some ways, he made me think of you."

Jareth cringed. "Don't insult me like that," he said, shuddering slightly.

"Well, your names are similar," she said defensively. "And occasionally I thought I saw a little of your face in his. And, let's be honest here – you were both equally persistent."

Jareth laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, yes," he growled. "He _was_ a persistent little bastard. I had planned out his murder more than once, but the scum seems to have found a way to cheat death every single time."

Sarah looked alarmed to hear that Jareth had planned to kill Red. "I didn't realize you were attempting to kill him," she hedged.

"Not until the bitter end," Jareth said resentfully. "I spared him because you seemed to care about him – and because I thought _something_ would make you change your mind."

"I almost did when my bed sheets literally would not release me from bed on the morning of our wedding," she said with a disbelieving chuckle. "God, my mother had to cut the damn things from me with a kitchen knife!"

Jareth smiled serenely. "I'm very proud of that spell," he said. "You know it doesn't work unless the bride herself is not actually destined to marry the groom?"

"Sure, Jareth," Sarah said, in a voice that suggested she was humoring him.

"It's true," he said calmly. "I'd advise you to look it up in one of the ancient scrolls, but you couldn't read them anyway, so there'd be no point."

Sarah rolled her eyes at herself in the mirror. "Well, I don't suppose I can disbelieve you, considering the shambles my marriage is currently in," she said forlornly.

Jareth started to reach out to touch her, but he drew his hand back quickly. "Try to remind yourself that you don't _have_ a marriage," he said quietly. "Because you don't anymore. You're not part of that world. You're _here_ – with me. This is where you belong."

He hadn't meant to set Sarah off with that comment, but it infuriated her. "No, it isn't," she said, anger edging her voice. "I belong at home, with my daughters and their father."

Jareth's eyes narrowed furiously. "He's _not_ their father, Sarah, and you know it," he said. "We've already had this discussion. They're _my_ girls as well as yours."

Sarah set her jaw – never a good sign – and glared coldly at him. "That doesn't give you the right to lock all of us away here for your own happiness," she said. "You didn't even think about what I'd want, or what the girls would want!"

"There was nothing to think about!" Jareth snapped. "Jared wished you here, and so I brought you. That's what I'm _supposed_ to do, Sarah. It's in the laws of the Labyrinth."

Sarah closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. "I can't deal with this right now," she said, abruptly hurrying past him to the door. "I'm going back to my room."

"It's actually my room," Jareth said in irritation.

"If you value the assets that you seem so keen to show off with your ridiculously tight pants, then you won't come back to it tonight," Sarah warned, and then she was out the door and gone.

Jareth stared after her for a moment, then let out a long breath with a shake of his head, murmuring, "I may yet have to kill that girl…"

* * *

_Sarah closed the girls' door behind her and leaned dazedly against it, remembering their words to her only moments before: __**The Goblin King, of course. Our **__**real**__** father**__. "This can't be happening," she said quietly to herself. Oh, sure, she'd fantasized about Jareth enough – God only knew why he had such a hold on her mind – but her fantasies hadn't led her to let Jareth into her bed – had they?_

_And Red. Damn him. Red made the entire situation even more complex. Red meant a good deal to Sarah, but suddenly she wasn't sure that she actually was in love with him. Even more importantly, she wasn't even sure when Red had actually been himself in their marriage. Because if Marie and Elizabeth were Jareth's children… well, Sarah was damn certain she had only willingly given herself to Red, and unless Jareth had mysteriously shape shifted into Red's form…_

_She could see him doing that, actually._

_Her fury abruptly exploded inside her at the realization of how personally Jareth had invaded her life. She pushed herself forcefully away from the door, going into her bedroom and throwing wide the window. "Jareth!" she screamed into the rainy night. "Jareth, I know you're out there! And you'd damn well better come right now before I slaughter you!"_

_As soon as her cry had dissipated into the night, a beautiful snowy owl swooped from the sky and made to land inside her window. She stepped back and watched as the owl suddenly transformed into Jareth's tall, lanky form, the shock of blonde hair bursting from his scalp. He was dressed in a black cape that swept over his chest, and dark breeches with tall boots. The cape dripped from the rain outside. And, damn it all, he looked sexy – ridiculously, blatantly, stunningly sexy, in a way that only Jareth could. "Is that any way to summon the father of your daughters?" he asked her, a wide smirk blossoming across his perfectly sculpted face as he opened his arms to her – almost as if he expected her to hurl herself into his embrace and kiss him right there._

_His smugness was maddening. "You are not their father!" Sarah cried, stomping her foot._

"_On the contrary, dear Sarah," he said with a laugh. "I can assure you that I am, even though you may disbelieve it."_

"_You've never touched me!" Sarah exclaimed._

"_Now, how is that possible?" Jareth asked with mock confusion, placing a hand ponderously on his chin. "Unless I'm much mistaken – and I don't believe I am – children cannot be created without some form of touching. Am I right?"_

"_Jareth," Sarah said through gritted teeth. "This. Is. Not. The. Time."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry," Jareth said derisively. "Do tell me when it is. I'm always available to mercilessly tease, insult, and ridicule you." _

"_So I've noticed," Sarah said hotly. "You can lie to me all you want, Jareth, but you can't lie to my children."_

"_I've never told them a lie in all our brief acquaintance," Jareth said, sounding a bit put out. "Granted, that brief acquaintance only lasted about five minutes. They brought up a certain Jared character, whom I don't happen to be particularly fond of, and I got a little angrier than I should have. I may have destroyed some of our girls' property – I apologize for that. Once all of you agree to live in the palace with me, I can replace it with much finer gifts. But as long as you stay with Jared…" Momentary hatred twisted Jareth's otherwise elegant features. "I hate that man," he snarled. He seemed to calm himself, and he added, rather jauntily, "He stole my Queen, you know."_

"_Did he now?" Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, that obviously wasn't due to lack of effort on your part. You enchanted my bed sheets on my wedding day!"_

"_I would have much rather been in the bed with you restraining you by far more pleasurable means, believe me," Jareth told her with a wolfish stare._

"_Apparently you magically found your way there without my knowing it," Sarah said in disgust, "If what you allege is, in fact, true."_

"_You can't really find it that hard to believe."_

"_I do!" Sarah cried. "I saw Red's face."_

"_Every time?" Jareth asked archly._

"_I – yes!" Sarah lied._

_Jareth shook his head and tutted. "It's not nice to lie to the father of your children – and it's an especially bad idea when he happens to be King of the Goblins."_

"_I'm not afraid of you," Sarah said defiantly._

"_You probably should be," Jareth told her, but there was nothing threatening in his voice. "And considering how very intimately I happen to know you, it's not particularly wise on your part to provoke me."_

"_More intimately than I ever realized," Sarah said bitingly._

"_I don't think you were quite as oblivious as you insist you were," Jareth said, taking several steps towards her. Sarah held her ground, but she wanted to run. "Think, Sarah – think of every time you've been with Jared. I'm certain you'll recall at least one occasion where something about Jared wasn't right."_

_Her wedding night sprung instantly to mind, and she flushed heatedly. Uncertainty flashed across her features. "You couldn't have," she said falteringly. "Unless… did you… I thought it…" She turned and hit the wall in frustration. "I don't ever remember you!" she exclaimed in aggravation – which was not completely true._

_Jareth's eyebrows shot up at her response. "Well, you weren't entirely aware that it was me," he conceded. He paused and tilted his head to the side. "Then again," he said thoughtfully, "Perhaps you were." The smirk returned. "It certainly wasn't Jared's name you were moaning."_

"_What?" Sarah yelped. "That's a lie!"_

"_Is it?" Jareth chuckled. "I realize our names are very similar – I fancy that's why you agreed to marry him, since I know that somewhere you understand you are destined to be mine – but there's a definite difference between that English d and th sound."_

"_You were hearing what you wanted to," Sarah said heatedly, but her face flushed darkly; she could recall more than one time where the wrong name had escaped her in unguarded moments._

"_Then why are you blushing?" Jareth asked mischievously. He took another step towards her as her hands flew to her burning cheeks. "Come now, Sarah, just admit it: it's me you love."_

"_I love Red!" Sarah said insistently, her voice ringing loudly in her own ears._

"_Do you indeed?" Jareth said, his expression darkening. "How can you love a man who demands that you crush your spirit to suit his needs?"_

"_I can't," Sarah choked out, "Which is why I never loved you!"_

_The words hit their mark; the normally implacable expression on Jareth's face morphed first into pain, then anger. "I can take our girls away from you," he threatened. "And I will."_

"_You can't!" Sarah gasped. "You have no right!"_

_He chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm their father, Sarah," he said. "Of course I have the right."_

"_It's impossible," Sarah said weakly. "I saw Red. I know it was Red…"_

"_Jared," Jareth said in disgust, "Was passed out in the lounge of your honeymoon suite from drinking too much. I just… borrowed his form for a bit." He paused momentarily, regained his composure, and added impishly, "You'd be amazed how difficult it is to control one's shape when one's focus keeps being diverted by something far more interesting."_

"_Don't share with me the gory details," Sarah said with a flinch. "How did you… how did you take on his form?"_

"_Please, Sarah," Jareth said in exasperation. "It's the oldest trick in the book. Merlin even employed it for Uther Pendragon when the great king longed for the Queen Igraine; and thus King Arthur was conceived, in case you didn't know."_

"_You know the King Arthur legends?" Sarah asked, momentarily distracted._

"_I know King Arthur himself," Jareth replied, arching a brow. "Well, I should say I know his caretakers, as he's been sleeping for quite some time now…"_

_Sarah opted not to ask how Arthur had found himself in the Underground. "It doesn't matter," she said, waving her hands in frustration. "Why did you appear to my daughters?"_

"_Our daughters," Jareth corrected irritably. "They summoned me – in far kinder terms than you, I might add. And when either my children or my Queen summon me, I cannot deny them."_

"_Queen?" Sarah repeated, inhaling sharply. "I'm not queen of anything."_

"_Yes, but you ought to be," Jareth said. "And you would be, if Jared wasn't standing in between us."_

"_I wouldn't," Sarah said defiantly._

_Jareth was growing annoyed. "No?" he said, stepping very, very close to her. "Come now, Sarah; tell me you don't find me attractive. Look me in the eyes and tell me."_

_Sarah met his intense gaze and felt her heart begin to pound harder against her ribcage. "I…" she whispered. Her mouth went dry and the words stuck to the roof of her mouth. "I…"_

_Jareth smiled. "Yes, my Queen?" he said in a low voice._

_The honorific angered Sarah. She tore her eyes from Jareth's and pushed him away, walked across the room and saying harshly, "I don't find you remotely attractive."_

_"Aha!" Jareth exclaimed triumphantly. "You can't say it to my face, so it must not be true."_

_"You're insane," Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at the wall before her._

_Suddenly she felt his breath, hot against her ear. "Look at me, Sarah," he breathed. "Turn around and look at me."_

_Sarah thought she had control of herself, but it became obvious to her that she didn't when her body turned to face him of its own accord. She cursed herself silently as she stared into Jareth's intense gaze._

_"Try saying it again," he commanded softly._

_She inhaled deeply and opened her mouth to say the words, but something entirely different burst forth: "Jareth… I can't lie to you..."_

_Sarah was surprised to see he looked almost – relieved. "Sarah, my wicked little imp," he sighed, and suddenly he captured her lips with his._

_She let him kiss her far longer than she should have, but the awareness of her marriage sunk deep in her conscience. She jerked violently backwards and gasped out, "We can't!"_

_Jareth looked wounded. "Why not?" he demanded._

_She held up the hand bearing her wedding ring, and Jareth glared at it in disgust. "A mortal token of an equally mortal bond," he said contemptuously. "It means nothing."_

_"Not to you," Sarah said, "But it means something to me. And if you care about me even a little, then you'll understand and leave me be."_

_He studied her intensely for a moment, and then said, in a very low voice, "I can't do that, Sarah. I just… __**can't**__."_


End file.
